Who is this motivated person in the mirror?

And where has she been all my life? I've had gym memberships, been on diets, had great success with home workout programs, but they've never stuck. I have spent my life looking for excuses not to work out... not to make the good nutritional choice. I spent a number of years living my life looking forward to the next meal. Then, at 265 pounds, I went on a disciplined eating and exercise plan and lost 40 lbs in 6 weeks. You would think that reward would have kept me motivated, but it didn't. I never went back to either. 
The goal was always loosing weight... never getting fit. I would dread every workout even though I knew I would feel great afterward. I would look forward to reaching a weight goal so I could go back to my old eating habits. I would make sure I was too busy to work out... my kids... my job... life.
What changed? Why do I WANT to work out now. Why do I throw away half a bowl of ice cream? Beachbody. It started with Shakeology which I thought would be a good meal replacement and help me loose weight. I had seen sooooo many of the ingredients touted as weight-loss aids (Acai, apple pectin, prebiotics, green tea, blue-green algae, chromium, cinnamon, flax seed, ,,,). What I didn't see coming is how it made me feel. After the first month, my muscles started craving action. I wanted to get up and move. I searched all around for the 10-Minute-Trainer DVDs I had stuck somewhere. I was doing Zumba. I was wii boxing. I realized I was ready for a more intense program, but still intimidated by P90X. So, I opted for ChaLEAN Extreme. I've always enjoyed lifting weights (just not motivated to go somewhere to do it).
I joined Beachbody as a coach in order to get the discount on my Shakeology. What I got was motivation. It's not just the desire to get up and do something physical. Every day I log into the Beachbody site to log my workouts, I see pictures of people who have made it all the way. People who were fat like me and are now thin, muscular, and HEALTHY.  My husband is also started working out with me. Not because he is into health or concerned with his weight, but because he wanted to grow our Beachbody business. That's OK! After a couple of weeks, he is seeing how good it feels to have muscles... how much easier life is when your body is strong. 
My focus has totally shifted. Yes, I still look forward to being thin again, but it's not the end.
Now... I need to go work out.

Two-week check-in

So two weeks into the 90-day ChaLEAN Extreme exercise program.
The first thing I have to say is MY BACK FEELS GREAT! I've been seeing a chiropractor for back soreness and muscle spasms since 1998. There were things I KNEW would cause my back to ache like gardening, lifting my toddler out of the tub, picking up a case of drinks or a full basket of laundry... Not now!
I've lost 1 inch from my waste and 1 inch from my saddle-bag area. I'm also getting that saggy-bottom look to my pants, but not quite ready to go down a size. I would probably have dramatic results if I changed my diet... but baby steps here.
I love the fact that the workouts are 35-45 minutes 5 days a week. That's a commitment I can carve out of my week. I'm feeling so good, I added a Zumba ab workout on one of my recovery days.
I honestly believe I wouldn't be dong any of this if it were not for the muscle energy I'm getting from Shakeology.  I just feel like I WANT to work out. I've never had this sensation before. Exercise has always been something I forced myself to do. Now, I look forward to my workout time.
Even better, my husband is doing it too. Of course being male, he's seeing results right away. He's getting muscle definition in just two weeks. We've worked out a schedule since we have one set of weights and someone needs to be watching the baby.
Our six-year-old wants to work out with us too. We've given him a set of 3lb hand weights. I've never had a role-model in my life who exercised. Maybe our kids will see us getting fit while they are young and never have to battle obesity like we have.

ChaLEAN Extreme Day 1 review

I started day one of ChaLEAN Extreme today, and I think I made a really good choice. I was worried that at my age and fitness level, starting an extreme weight routine would be so hard I'd give up after a couple of days. Fortunately, all Beachbody products come with a 30-day money back guarantee, so I wasn't worried about another workout DVD on the shelf. I was really more worried about disappointing myself again.
First thing, the product seems to be of very high quality. There was a portfolio of DVD, two books, a resistance band and sculpting band. One book is about the workout and one is a diet/cookbook.
What strikes me the most about the program itself is how realistic and likable Chalene Johnson is. When she says, "you can do it," I want to believe her. She also says things like, "If you can only do one pushup, that's OK."  She's not a taskmaster. (Which is nice, because I could only do one pushup, and that was on my knees, not toes.)
The exercises were definitely challenging to do, but not too difficult. I felt like I was working hard, but not in a dangerous way. It also was not tedious. The moves work multiple muscle groups at the same time and you do 10-12 reps. The whole workout took only 35 minutes.
Another thing I loved was the rep and countdown timer. I always knew how long I had to go and what rep I was on, so I could concentrate on the moves and not count reps.
I won't be posting "before" pictures until I have some day-30 "after" pictures, but I will be posting weekly updates on the program.

Lower fat easy Caesar Dressing

The key to this dressing is Canola mayonaise. For some reason it has less than half of the calories of regular mayonaise and does not rely on chemicals or vinegar. I personally hate light mayonaise and would rather have the calories.

3/4 cup Canola Mayo
1/4 cup good grated parmasan
1/4 cup skim milk
1/8 tsp pepper
pinch salt
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
Juice from 1 lemon (fresh is important)
3 large garlic cloves (powdered or prepared garlic will leave you with a flat taste)

Press garlic cloves into bowl or small food processor. Squeeze in lemon juice. Let sit for 1 minute to temper garlic flavor.
Add the remaining ingredients and whisk or process until combined and smooth.

Approximately 45 calories and 5 grams of fat per tablespoon compared to store-bought Caesar Dressing which has 190 calories and 17 grams of fat per serving.