I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but we’re about to hit peak candy season. It’s candy, candy everywhere. The king size, the “fun” size, the variety packs–you know, that bag that has ALL your weaknesses in one: peanut butter cups, Kit Kats, and Snickers.
WHAT THE HECK is up with this commercialized sabotage of our nutritional goals and never-ending battle to curb our SUGAR addictions?! As they say these days, the struggle is REAL.
To fight it, I’m making loads of these Shakeo peanut butter cups. Especially come October 31st and there are two hollow plastic pumpkins full of CHOCOLATE and HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP sitting in the pantry, calling my 8 months pregnant name like a siren on a shore.
First Day of School Freedom
This morning we had a “full circle moment” that I almost took for granted. I’m so used to Ben being home with us that it didn’t even hit me until the excitement of getting Molly off to school had died down.
It’s only been 18 months since we retired Ben from Corporate America. He used to wake up before the kids were up and commute an hour in DC rush hour traffic where he would spend his day miserable in a cubicle. Then he would sit in an hour of traffic on the ride home and be lucky to tuck the kids in. Most of the time they were already asleep.
Everything has changed since those days. This morning he set his alarm and popped out of bed at 5:30am to start working on Molly’s special first day of school chocolate chip pancakes. He woke her up and brought her downstairs. He helped me make her lunch. And then he went upstairs to wake up Burke so we could all stand at the bus stop together as a family. That experience may not have ever happened had Beachbody not come into our lives.
Later today he gets to take Burke to the bus stop and wait with him for Molly to come home. And every single day he will be there before school and after school – never having to miss a moment because of a boss telling him work is more important.
I am forever grateful I took a chance on this Beachbody thing. I didn’t know what I was doing. I had no experience. I just took the training and ran with it. Almost three years later our lives are completely different and we are our own bosses. Now THAT is freedom! 🙌🏼
***You know what I’m gonna say right? 😜 Beachbody doesn’t guarantee any income or success – you have to bust your butt!***
Beachbody Coach Summit 2016
That’s a wrap!! Beachbody Coach Summit 2016 has officially ended — we left Nashville and next year we will be in New Orleans! It was a total whirlwind of a trip and being 20 weeks pregnant was quite an experience. I had to rest a lot more than usual, which is hard for me because I do not like to slow down. So what the heck is Coach Summit?
We like to joke that it’s the Oscars of Beachbody, but really it’s Beachbody’s annual conference where 25K coaches come together to learn from one another and move their businesses forward. We also celebrate our previous year’s accomplishments and some of us get to walk across the big sta
ge to accept awards. Summit is also a place where I can meet my coaches in person since so many of them I have only talked to on social media. It’s a place where I can see my best friends — friend I would’ve never made had I not signed up to become a Beachbody Coach. It’s a place where everyone is happy, positive and full of smiles.
This year was our last year in Nashville which I was sad about because I LOVE Nashville, but I am excited to head to New Orleans next year — I’ve never been so give me your best places to eat! So although it was our last year in this city, it was my first year as a speaker!! Being asked to lead a training at Summit was a huge goal of mine and it was a huge honor as there were only 40 speakers total. One of my best friends, Morgan, and I spent month working on our presentation and practicing. We wanted to make sure that we added so much value to all of the coaches who were attending our maxed out training. We capped at 4K people!! AHHH!! But it was amazing and I hope to be invited back next year!
That was just one highlight of the amazing trip. I got to walk across the stage {with my besties!} for hitting some big goals. I accepted an award for Success Club 10 All Star Legend — this means I have consecutively made it a goal of mine to help a minimum of 5 people every single month get started with a new workout program and Shakeology. I have never missed a month (including when I was pretty much non functioning from the first trimester of this pregnancy) since I signed up and I’m extremely proud of that! Let me know if you want to be a part of one of my monthly accountability groups!
I also walked across the stage to celebrate my team reaching 13 Star Diamond. This was an exciting moment for me! 15 Star Diamond is the highest rank in Beachbody and we are SOOOO close to reaching that goal I can taste it! I can’t wait to walk across stage next year to celebrate our team as a Superstar Diamond team with some of the best in the business!
And of course, the biggest goal I got to celebrate was representing my team for a second year in a row as an Elite team. This is a very hard goal for coaches to hit and my team busts their butts to reach it. I couldn’t be more proud of them and their dedication to helping new people every single month get started on a new journey. As an Elite Coach Beachbody really spoils us and we received these AMAZING Any Warhol inspired GIANT paintings which I now have hanging in my office. I love it!
Coach Summit is one of my most favorite times of the year! I always look forward to it and I love seeing my team grow and thrive. I would love to have you at Summit 2017 in New Orleans!! I can show you how you can earn a FREE ticket to come hang out with us. If you have ever thought about becoming a coach or even just wanted more from life then let’s chat!! This business is for anyone who has the desire to help others and has dreams of living their best life. Just shoot me a Facebook message and we can chat to see if we would be a good fit for one another. I have a new coach training starting on Monday! Let’s do this!
What is a Challenge Group?
“Nikki, what is a Challenge Group?” I get that question A LOT!! Those of you who are not in the Beachbody world do not know what a Challenge Group means or entails or all the fun that is involved, so let me just tell you what it is!!
Basically, it’s a private, online fitness and nutrition accountability group. My groups are 4 weeks long — the first week is a prep week to get your ready for the challenge and then we have 3 weeks of daily check ins! I provide support, encouragement, recipes, meal plans…. basically, if you need it, I have got it for you!!
All you have to do is invest in yourself with a discounted package from Beachbody (which you order through me… your free coach!). I will help you pick a program and tell you what flavor Shakeology is the best (hint hint Chocolate Vegan) then I shoot you over a link and voila! You have your package on the way to your doorstep and you are officially welcomed into the challenge group.
In order to get the best results possible I do ask that you check into the group each day. Yes, I want to see your sweaty selfie and hear about how much you wanted to quit but you didn’t! I want you to share the good, the bad and the ugly. That’s why these groups are private. The friendships and relationships that come out of these groups are amazing. I see confidence grow week over week. I see results happen. All because there is support. Sometimes that is all that it takes for someone to get the results they want!
If you are interested in joining one of my upcoming groups you just have to fill out this application — it will give me an idea of your goals and how I can best help you. There is no deadline to join, I’m ready for you when you are ready to commit!! I KNOW I can get you the results you want because I have tons of testimonials!!
5 Foods I Eat Every Day to Maintain Weight Loss
I have lost 50+lbs and maintained that weight loss for the past 2.5 years. I have documented my weight loss journey on this blog and shared every single step of the way. But it can be easy to forget the early struggles I faced when I started making a real lifestyle change — NOT a diet! And no, I am not perfect by any means and I love food… all kinds of food, especially sweets! However, I am so in tune with my body now that when I do not eat healthily I suffer greatly and feel like total shit. So, here are 5 foods I eat every day to maintain weight loss:
1. Two Eggs
Yes, I eat them whole — yolk and all!! Two eggs equals one serving of protein and I try to eat at least 4 servings of protein each day. I am not a really big fan of my eggs plain and because I avoid dairy as much as possible I do not add cheese. Eggs with cheese and butter are delicious, but that is not how I maintain my weight loss! lol. I mix in spinach, chopped asparagus, chopped tomato and 2 slices of chopped up turkey bacon (which adds an extra 1/2 a serving of protein to my breakfast!). I just scramble them all together, easy peasy. It doesn’t look pretty, but it does the job of filling me up and starting my day off right. Ain’t nobody got time to make a beautiful omelet with kids running all over the place.
2. Shakeology
I seriously do not go a day without Shakeology. And I pretty much drink the same exact recipe every single day. Chocolate Vegan with one banana (yes an ENTIRE banana!), a scoop of Power Greens and 8oz of either almond milk or water blended with ice. Every.single.day. I do not wish for variety. I love the chocolate vegan flavor more than any other flavor — although the cafe latte is pretty amazing but it’s made with whey protein and remember I said I avoid dairy? But I digress >>> it gives me energy, it’s filled with AMAZING superfood goodness, pre and pro biotics. I haven’t been sick in over two years and I do not need to take pill-form vitamins anymore. It has nothing artificial in it and I give it to my kids as well. It’s a great way to sneak in some veggies 😉
3. Veggies
Speaking of veggies — I try to eat veggies with almost every meal. I love them! I know a lot of people do not like vegetables, which is why I recommend Shakeology. My husband is not a big veggie person but I know he’s getting plenty in his daily shake. I pretty much will eat most vegetables steam with a little bit of himalayan salt. I eat 4 servings of vegetables a day — and get in additional veggies with my shake. I put them in my eggs as mentioned above, I have extra servings at dinner and I eat a snack incorporating them in the afternooon. I also really like salads. Gimme all the greens!
4. Ezekiel Toast
What the crap is Ezekiel? It is bread made with fresh, organic sprouted grains — no flour, no GMOs, no refined sugar, no preservatives. You can find it in the frozen organic section of your grocery store. I keep my in the fridge and pop it in the toaster. I top it with a couple teaspoons of almond butter and a little drizzle of honey for some sweetness. It is the perfect guilt-free snack for me when I am craving some comfort food. Nom nom!
5. Hummus or Avocado
Gotta get in your healthy fats y’all!! My go-to is either hummus with carrots and cucumbers or avocado mixed w/ tomato topped with a pinch of himalayan salt. I have to switch them up for two reasons. One, I can get tired of hummus and veggies really quick. Especially as an afternoon snack. I will go to grab and and think, “BORING.” That’s when I get into trouble and start raiding my kids’ snacks. Oops! Second reason is that good avocados in the winter are hard to find. They will ripen faster than I can eat them since I only eat 1/4 a day and right now no one else in my family will eat them. I need to move where I can have an avocado tree in my backyard!
So there you go! Those are 5 foods I eat every day to maintain my weight loss! I like to keep it simple and not overcomplicate things. My suggestion to you is to find things you like and just rotate them around — especially if you need variety in your life. Some people can’t eat the same exact things every day. The beauty about eating clean is that there are SO many healthy choices out there to choose from. Just hit up the produce section — all the colors of the rainbow in their most natural state! Happy eating!
5 Tips for Staying Motivated in Both Your Fitness & Your Business
“Nikki, how do you stay motivated?” <—- I get that question a lot. Staying motivated in both fitness and business is something that I have learned. And I will tell you that it’s a lot easier said than done. It takes work and practice getting and staying motivated. Staying is the key word!! It can be all too easy to fall off track, but here are some tips I have found that help me.
1. GOALS
The first step to staying motivated is to have goals… otherwise what are you working towards? You need to sit down today and write down your goals where you can see them every single day. In both your fitness journey and in your business journey you need to be constantly setting goals. If you have those in your mind all the time then you will be more likely to stay motivated to hit those goals. When I have a goal to get bikini ready for my cruise in March I am MUCH more likely to say no to wine and yes to kale! If I do not have a goal, bring on all that wine! Same thing in my business. If I know I have a certain goal, it makes it that much easier to get out of bed and get to work!
2. VISUALIZATION
Ahhhh this is so so so so important. I cannot even tell you how much my life has changed since I started implementing visualization in the mornings. I directly correlate it to success in my business. Find somewhere quiet to visualize your goals and how you will feel when you hit them. REALLY concentrate on how you will feel when you reach that goal!! Visualize what your life will be like. It’s amazing what happens when you start focusing on what you really WANT instead of focusing on what you don’t want and worrying about all the what ifs!
3. ACCOUNTABILITY
Find someone or a few someones to hold you accountable to your goals. If you have only yourself to keep you accountable then it’s a lot easier to let your goals slip. When you have others who know your goals then it’s A LOT harder to skip that workout or sleep in instead of work. That is why I love my online fitness accountability groups! I am holding women accountable to their fitness goals, but at the same time they are keeping me accountable! I am much less likely to fall off track knowing that they are counting on me to check in each day. For my business I have Success Partners. They know my business goals and they call me out when I’m slacking or not working at my fullest potential. My business has changed because I have them in my corner. If you don’t have anyone holding you accountable right now, then go find someone!! {If you need fitness accountability, I got you >>> Contact me here}
4. HAVE A PLAN
You must must must have a plan of action — how are you going to reach your goal? If you have a really big goal it is so important to break it down into smaller, actionable goals. I like to break mine down into weekly goals. That keeps me motivated to keep truckin’ along every week. Also, who doesn’t love small wins?! Every time I hit a mini goal it’s a reason to celebrate! If you haven’t yet, sit down with your goals and break them down. If you have 20lbs to lose then set a goal of 2lbs a week — then you can focus on that! And if you don’t hit your mini goal, you will!! Just don’t give up!!
5. GET EXCITED
Lastly, you have to be excited about your goals and your plan of action!!! Wake up, put on some music and have a dance party!! As soon as you feel bored or stuck that is a dangerous place to be in because then you REALLY aren’t motivated. Motivation is all about how we are feeling. If we are feeling excited then it’s easy to get motivated. Just like how I do not feel like cleaning my house right now… but if I pump up the jams and psych myself up then I am ready to do some cleaning! YEAHHH!!
So, there you have it! My 5 tips on how to stay motivated in both fitness & business!! Now, a forewarning: you are not always going to feel motivated all the time even if you try these tips. We are not robots. So I will tell you that if you feel super blah then take it as a sign that you need to recharge. Go read a book, take a bath, relax and get back to it tomorrow. But whatever you do, do not let one day turn into anything more — that is a slippery slope you do not want to go down!! So, take this blog post as a sign that it’s time to get and STAY motivated in your life! Go forth and reach all your goals! You deserve it!
Want to Get Lean in 2016? Throw Away Your Scale!
Happy NEW YEAR!!! I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season filled with love, laughter and smiles galore!! If you follow me on Facebook you will know that I stuck to my Hammer & Chisel routine while traveling — well, at least the workouts & my precious superfood blend! I am all about the 80/20 rule, especially when it comes to the holidays and traveling. I wasn’t about to deprive myself of homemade treats and delicious wine! But I prepared for that by sticking to a fairly strict nutrition plan before we left and I am now back to that plan for my last 4 weeks of the program.
Here are my results after 4 weeks of the program and I will tell you right now that if you are obsessed with the number on the scale then you need to throw it away before you start Hammer & Chisel. Look at my photos. How much weight do you think I have lost? I have lost ZERO pounds and I actually gained weight over Christmas week, but I’m back down to where I started. I have lost 2 inches in my waist and about 1/2 an inch from each arm but for the most part my measurements haven’t moved much. If I wasn’t taking photos I would be completely discouraged about these numbers…. but again, LOOK AT MY PHOTOS!! I feel AWESOME! And STRONG!
I always tell my clients to stop obsessing over the scale. It does not tell the TRUTH. For real. Get it out of your house if you can’t stay off of it. Do not let it dictate your thoughts about yourself. Go by photos and how you FEEL in your skin and in your clothes.
Maybe you wish you could look like I do in my before photos but I will tell you that I do not feel good in my skin in those photos. That is me indulging a little too much. Waking up feeling sluggish because I was not feeding my body nutrient-dense food. That is me letting my sugar addiction creep back in. That is me not taking care of myself. So, if you say “You looked great before!” then I will say “thank you” but that is not me FEELING good. And that is all that matters to me.
If you would like to get lean in 2016 join my next private, online accountability group! Just fill out this form and I will be in touch! Deadline to join is 1/15/16.
Pushing Through the Holidays – Hammer & Chisel Style
So many people wait for January 1 to start their new goals. I’m over here like, “Why wait? I feel like crap now so why would I want to wait a whole additional month to start feeling good? Why would I want to feel like this for a second longer?! WHY?!” That is why I was so excited for the launch of our newest program, Hammer & Chisel. It couldn’t have come at a better time for me. I went balls to the wall at Thanksgiving and was fully busting out of my jeans when the holiday was over.
Today I am on Day 9 of Hammer & Chisel and I’m proud to report that I am down almost 2 inches in my bust (!!!), down almost a full inch on my waist, down over an inch on my belly, slight gains in my quads and down 1/2 an inch on each arm!
Come January 1 I am going to be FULL SPEED AHEAD of everyone who waited to get started. If you need some motivation through the holidays, don’t hesitate to reach out! I am going to indulge with ZERO guilt over Christmas, but will jump right back to it when Christmas is over. Just because it’s the holidays doesn’t mean we have to give up our goals nor does it mean we can’t indulge. Let’s find a happy medium everyone!! Who is with me?!
Got dat booty!
Perfectly Imperfect
I don’t weigh myself often — I like to measure by how I feel and how my clothes fit, but I do weigh myself before starting a new program. This morning I knew I wouldn’t like what I saw on the scale because after a week of traveling I am feeling beyond fluffy. And I was right {blaaaaah}, but the beauty of this life is that every day is a new day to start over. The old me would spiral and continue on with using food and alcohol to mask the feelings of shittiness, but becoming a coach has helped me find the tools to overcome and has surrounded me with the people to hold me accountable.
It has made me more disciplined and helped me realize that the journey never ends — new goals are always being set and backtracking is normal. So often I talk to women who say they could never coach others when they don’t feel fit enough or they aren’t to their goal weight/body — and to that I say — it’s not about the end goal — it’s about inspiring others along the way. It’s about joining hands with others while on your journey. Because honestly, the journey never ends, you just get a little bit more skilled at overcoming the obstacles. 😉
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Beachbody does not guarantee any level of success or income from the Team Beachbody Coach Opportunity. Each Coach’s income depends on his or her own efforts, diligence, and skill. For more information see the Beachbody Statement of Independent Coach Earnings: http://www.beachbodycoach.com/uploads/fckeditor/mdbody/File/downloads/statement_of_independent_coach_earnings.pdf