Yoga and Fitness Auf Deutsche

I am starting a fitness class here in the Alps. Finally. It has been 4 years and I have worked up the nerve to bust out my caveman German to the poor souls that are willing to train with me. So far my "students" are requesting lots of yoga.

Translation: Don't do anything too hard.

So I made a little yoga video to quell any fears that we might sweat a little.

Off to Croatia before school starts.

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Legs

Working on the legs. Muscle is there, fat too.

Yo-Yo

Finally some sun today. Rained solid for 2 months. I love this song.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

No Sugar, No Wheat= ABS!

No sugar, no wheat. Never ever would I have thought I would be a gluten-free, sugar-free girl. Did I mention never? Bread and tasty baked goods are a fine reason for living. Of course I tried to limit how much I ate and exercised intensely to counteract this passion. And I wish I didn’t have to use the word “try” here, but if the shoe fits….

But times change and sh$t happens. Namely, you might wake up one day and have a thyroid problem. You know the kind of thyroid problem that runs you into the ground. The kind that makes you feel like a burnt out cigarette that has been stubbed out into a very dirty ashtray. Sorry, but the analogy works. The kind of thyroid problem that makes you gain weight on a diet of 1200 calories and 2 hours of exercise a day. When you have that kind of thyroid problem all hell breaks loose, physically and mentally.

I did see an endocrinologist. One does not want to self-diagnose even if you had the energy to think straight and study up on the various thyroid problems. In a nutshell our whole hormonal system is very complex and can be a bear to regulate and get working to an optimal capacity.

I won’t bore you with the details of my medical diagnosis, but let’s just say, I was offered some standard care and therapies to fix my thyroid. One of them being to nuke the thing with radioactive iodine and hope that it doesn’t completely kill the bugger. No thanks. If I can avoid being on medication the rest of my life, I will.

I chose me. I will say this again and again, I am not conventional. And this bleeds over into how I treat my body. I got the info, I compared my options and I decided that I could tackle this problem and fix it myself. I believe my body is more than capable of this task. And later I will elaborate on the details of this healing.
* Disclaimer: This is my situation and not everyone has the options to do this, some people MUST be on thyroid hormones.

I am a couple weeks into the process and a big part of this is a nutritional supporting program. And that means no gluten, no sugar.

Guess what? I feel amazing. I mean really Amazing. I thought I tolerated starchy carbs pretty well and maybe I did in the past, but since this thyroid stuff, getting off the wheat and sugar has been the biggest jump in my road to optimal health.

I am also doing the P90X program, which is tough even if you are in tip top shape.

It has been a very challenging 6 months and I feel I have turned the corner.
And my abs are back! I haven’t seen them since this thyroid problem started.

Happy days.

Alert the Fire Department

Time for an update. Last week I turned 45. 45!!!! How did THAT happen? I remember sitting in that stuffy 7th grade classroom at Our Lady of Mercy grammar school, staring out the window and wondering how old I would be in the year 2000.
I would be 36. DAMN, that is ancient, I thought. So what is 45?

Truth be told, I did not look forward to 45. It is the first time in my life where I went hmmmm, that is not a nice number. I psyched myself up for it by saying I was 45 months in advance, the equivalent of going in that COLD water just up to your knees. Maybe it is slightly less shocking, but there is something to be said for just jumping in and being done with it. So I'm in. I am 45 and I have decided to enjoy it. What's the alternative? I am never going to be younger than I am right now and when I am 50-something, I will look back and think 45, what a baby...ok, maybe not a baby, it's not like 36.

On the P90X front, it is Rest Week that started with Monday yoga. I did mention that the yoga in this program is no cakewalk. I get a brand new workout today. Core-something and I have a feeling about this...a feeling that is going to involve a burning mid-section and some colorful expletives.

Week 2 Recap

Back in Blogland

Truth be told I started this blog because I started a business. We'll get back to that later.
I used to blog a couple years back. It was fun and then when it wasn't, I stopped. I still read blogs, the same ones I read back when I was doing it. So I HAVE kept up with your guys...just in case you find yourself reading this.

Back to why I started blogging again. I saw an opportunity to become a Beachbody coach. It looked interesting and a way to make some cash doing what I was already doing in my free time, hanging out in fitness forums, supporting and getting support with other fitness folks.

OK, I did think it was kind of like Amway for fitness. Not that there is anything wrong with Amway, it is just an analogy of marketing. You can use Mary Kay if you like. But since fitness is a passion, a truth, a HUGE part of my life, I put aside the corporate marketing feelings and looked at Beachbody as an opportunity to do what I love and get paid. Win-win, right?

So I love fitness. No big surprises there. How does Beachbody fit into that since I am going to encourage and recommend their products? My history with Beachbody was doing the Thin Thighs Guaranteed video (it was a VHS cassette..lol), the Great Abs, Great Buns, and Great Stretch series after my daughter was born. I simply didn't have the time to go to the gym. I stand by the quality of those workouts. By doing those videos and walking, I lost the baby weight. My friend and I had a pet name, the "Squat Nazi", for the women in Thin Thighs.

My next meeeting with Beachbody was Slim in 6. I got it on loan from a friend who raved about it. I though why not? I am still crunched for time (now I had 2 kids) and the others worked. Now Slim in 6 is an entire program to overhaul yourself. I was impressed. The workouts built upon each other and at the end of 6 weeks, I made some great progress.

Enter P90X. I have seen this program ALL over the place. I read about it in bloggerland, it's on TV, youtube, etc...can't swing a dead cat without...you know the rest. I also heard it wasn't a program for the squeamish. You should be pretty fit to attempt it.

So, I jumped on board and I am excited to see what Beachbody has delivered this time.

I am at the end of Week 2. I think this program is hands down one of the hardest I've ever done. I like to think I know what that looks like. It's old school, it's modern, it's intense, it incorporates ALL the elements to really be fit, not just look like it.

So that's where I'm at now. I will keep you posted on my P90X journey and give a little background of my current fitness level.

Jennifer (the artist formally known as Bootsy)

PS. Please buy lots of Beachbody products from me and we'll all be happy...just kidding!