DEFINE YOURSELF WITH PIYO - DANIELLE H. SUCCESS STORY

Love hearing and seeing others transform their life by adopting healthy habits! 
Check out Danielle who with PiYo lost 40 pounds and 4 dress sizes!! 
She is a cardio lover at heart but PiYo was able to help Danielle transform her body in a whole new way!!

"I knew things like yoga and Pilates were good for you and were important because of the strengthening and stretching, but I found them boring. I’m a Turbo and hip hop girl who can’t sit still and I don’t feel like I’m really working out unless I’m breathing hard and sweating. I took one yoga class and never went back. I was bored! When I saw that Chalene (my role model/mentor) had an “upbeat” and choreographed workout that had the benefits of Pilates and yoga, I was sold.

Myself and others like me stay away from Pilates and yoga because it’s slow and not entertaining enough for us cardio junkies who are used to moving quickly through movements. But PiYo allows us to do that. It’s fun! And I can do a push up now! I always struggled with push ups, but because of PiYo, I can do them and have toned my arms like never before.

My flexibility has also improved dramatically. I can do the splits again – I haven’t been able to do them since high school! With PiYo, I regained some of the flexibility I had years ago and my legs are so much stronger! I had knee “issues” and since I started doing PiYo, I hardly ever have any issues. I believe it’s because I have built up more muscle in my upper legs from doing all of the squats and warrior poses. Now, I even take 4+ flights of stairs at work without dying from being out of breath or my legs screaming.

As someone who was overweight and needed to lose a significant amount, I always wanted to focus on cardio…until I found PiYo. Now, I honestly feel better and feel like I’ve accomplished something I never thought I could do." 

- Danielle H. 

Week 6 Piyo Meal Planning

Another week is here and you betcha I have my plan in place!! 

I am still going strong with PiYo as we are turning up the heat today with DRENCH!! 
(ha ha - there is a reason why it's called DRENCH because you finish the workout with sweat dripping off of you!)

After workout sweaty pic 

DRENCH is one of the longer workouts but honestly to me it flew by. My favorite part of this particular workout is the FLOW section. I love the warrior poses, leg swings, and my favorite PiYo flip!! Of course there are some Piyo push-ups included here and there too.

PiYo Flip - getting there

Each week I see my body transforming and I just LOVE IT! I am becoming my old flexible self again and I LOVE the definition I am seeing all over my body, especially my legs! 

One of my favorite parts in the PiYo workout is when Chalene Johnson, creator of PiYo, informs us that everyone in that particular video is over the age of 40!! Ya know what they all look amazing and healthy!! Age is a number but so many people use that as their reason why they can't workout. Well if age is your excuse then I give you PiYo as your answer!!

all over 40!!

Well you knew I loved PiYo before but now I am loving it even more!! 

This is so up my alley!

What I love about it...

1. Love using my own body weight as my resistance. This is a take anywhere type of workout - HUGE BONUS!! 

2. The length of the workouts is short enough that those who are "too busy to workout" will still be able to get them in and finished.

3. The Nutrition Plan - easy to follow, lots of choices, and I feel satisfied

4. The Results - how I  feel after a PiYo workout is enough for me because I feel amazing!! I remind myself of that feeling when I don't want to get out of bed in the morning!! BUT I am really enjoying seeing my body defined. Chalene wasn't kidding when she put the tag line "DEFINE YOURSELF" with PiYo!! 

I mentioned above that I am loving the Nutrition Plan that comes along with PiYo! I have been meal planning for about 2 years now and although change is hard I welcome it with open arms because I know it is good for me!!

The PiYo nutrition plan is simple enough that it didn't cause me any extra time to meal plan with it. Another bonus! If you have been following me you know that I plan my week on Sundays. This way when I wake up on Monday I know what I will be eating and there is no guessing. When I guess there is more chance of me choosing poorly when it comes to food options or I just don't eat. 
If I have my meals (meaning meals & snacks) planned and prepped I am golden!!

here is my plan for the week...
The information in parentheses is how I track my different groups that are outlines in the PiYo Nutrition guide. 

P=Lean Protein

F=Healthy Fruit

PV=Primary Vegetable

2V=Secondary Vegetable & Grains

HF=Healthy Fat

Another exciting piece of information to share is that my first PiYo Health and Fitness group just completed Day 30 so I am anxiously awaiting to see their results thus far. For some this is their first workout in a REALLY long time and others working out is already part of their routine. 

If you are interested in learning more about PiYo or would like to join my next group please CONTACT ME!! I would be more than happy to give you more details and talk through with you if this program would be a good fit for you!!

Also if you would like more information regarding meal planning or how you can get started living a healthier life by eating clean I too would be more than happy to discuss this with you!! CONTACT ME via EMAIL or FRIEND ME on FACEBOOK!!

Now let's have a fitabulous week!!

Now is the time to learn how to live a 

FIT, HAPPY, and HEALTHY Life 

and we will do it 

TOGETHER!!!!

~Alyson

alysonhorcher@gmail.com

teambeachbody.com/alysonh

myshakeology.com/alysonh

facebook.com/alyson.horcher

Meal Plan Week of August 18, 2014 - PiYo Week 6

If you would like the full post CLICK HERE

A few minutes of planning and I am set for the WEEK!!

Yes, I said it again PLANNING!!

Well if you don't know it by now, I like to plan things out. Guess what today is...

I have always been a planner but I'll let you in on a little secret....It took me almost 6 MONTHS until I started Meal Planning. I joined my first health and fitness group with my Beachbody coach in late February 2012. She always talked about meal planning and shared her plans but I was not ready to commit to doing my own. All I knew is that at least one of my meals would be my Shakeology and I was happy with that. It was more than what I was doing so in my book I was already ahead. 

How did I do with Progress you might ask. 

Well for me my focus was on working out. I love the energy it gave me, I love how great I felt after I was done, and I loved lifting weights (ha who knew - up until this point I never knew I liked weights!!) 

The program I choose was Chalean Extreme and I do believe this program is my soulmate workout. Thank goodness this was my first workout because I absolutely fell in love with it and it's celebrity trainer - Chalene Johnson. This was my first time I learned HOW to lift weights properly and best of all I learned I LOVED lifting.  The concept behind muscle burns fat also intrigued me and well despite my lack of meal planning I still saw results. 

I did however come to a point where I was no longer losing any more weight or inches and I knew what was next for me to conquer - my diet! 

Now I didn't eat horribly at this point because I had learned so much from my previous months of taking part in health and fitness groups with my beachbody coach. BUT I knew I could do better!! I knew I had to start meal planning in order to get over my plateau.  But I looked at it to be such a pain!! 

What I thought...

Meal Planning is Too Time Consuming

Meal planning costs more money 

(I will be eating healthier - healthy food is expensive)

Meal Planning is too Confusing

Meal Planning cannot be done for a Family

Meal Planning is restrictive

Happy to inform you if you are like me and believe these statements above 

YOU ARE WRONG!!

I speak from experience and I can tell you 

Meal Planning takes me 5-10 minutes weekly

Now I do want to say in the beginning it took me a bit more time. I needed to figure out what worked for me and I needed to find healthy recipes for the meals my family already loved. 

Meal Planning saves me money - I buy only what I need and I reduce wasted food (mainly from leftovers and produce going bad). I no longer buy pre-made meals that are loaded with chemicals which tend to cost a WHOLE lot more money. We also choose to eat at home rather than go out to eat as much. 

Meal Planning is too Confusing - Wow did I miss the boat on this one. I now follow the clean eating principles and one of the easiest ways to meal plan is to eat 5-6 correctly portioned meals and to pair a complex carbohydrate with a protein. Easy enough right? So why was I thinking it would be too confusing? Sounds like it was an EXCUSE I was using!! My best advice I can offer is follow the experts who know the ins and out of meal planning. This alone will makes meal planning a whole lot easier. 

Meal Planning cannot be done for a Family

I am a mother with 2 small children who like most kids are picky about trying new things. I also have a husband who likes to eat what he likes to eat. I knew I wanted to meal plan but since I do all the grocery shopping and meal preparing I wanted this to be a family affair. I was not able to comprehend how I would be able to meal plan for my family. Easiest way to do this - we all eat the same meals...well for the most part. This is still a work in progress as there are certain meals my kids are not fond of. I do however keep trying and we have the 2 bite rule - you must take 2 bites before you can decide whether or not you like something. Dinners we all eat the same, snacks we all eat the same, and lunches are coming along. 

Meal Planning is restrictive

I didn't want to have to give up all my favorite foods!! Guess what I didn't have to give them up. I found healthier versions and started implementing those recipes.  As time went on my taste for the sweeter & saltier foods decreased in addition to many of my other cravings (I think shakeology plays a big part in this one!) I still have chocolate here and there and other favorites but I make sure I am having the proper portion and I am only having these types of foods every so often.

As you can see my reasons for not wanting to meal plan were not valid. I wish I would have chosen to start meal planning sooner so I could see my results sooner but WE LIVE and WE LEARN!!

Now meal planning is part of my weekly routine - I plan on Sundays.  Sometimes I meal prep Sundays too but usually prepping happens on Mondays.

Here is my meal plan for the week...

I am in Week 5 of PiYo and part of the PiYo fitness program is a nutrition plan as well. So that is why I have letters and numbers in parentheses below each of my meals. This is a way for me to track and make sure I am following the plan. 

If you have any questions regarding my meal plan or looking for a particular recipe, feel free to CONTACT ME!!

Also feel free to CONTACT ME if you are wanting to lead a healthier lifestyle. Whether you are at the beginning stages or need new ideas I can help!!

Now is the time to learn how to live a 

FIT, HAPPY, and HEALTHY Life 

and we will do it 

TOGETHER!!!!

~Alyson

alysonhorcher@gmail.com

teambeachbody.com/alysonh

myshakeology.com/alysonh

facebook.com/alyson.horcher

Making Life Easier with Healthy Recipes

We've all been talking about it and for some the time has already come and others we still have a few more weeks left. What is IT that I am talking about? 

BACK TO SCHOOL!! 

Now if you are a parent of a Back to School child then you have one of two emotions going on you are excited or you are sad. I honestly am a little bit of both!! I can't believe BOTH of my kids will be heading to school this year. Yes, my daughter will be entering PreK not school in some eyes but to us it is. See we have had our children at home with either my husband or myself since they were born. 

We didn't know how we would do it but we stuck to our guns and made it happen and I am thankful and feel blessed to say we DID IT!! YAY US!! 

So I am excited Leo and Addyson are both going to school this year but I am also sad to see my babies enter a new stage of life. 

What we all pray doesn't happen

what we all pray does happen

I am also excited because I am pushing myself to step up my game and get our house in order before SCHOOL BEGINS. 

I am working on making recipes that are healthy and FAST!! 

I was looking through some of my recipes the last few weeks and some of them although I love them are just not going to work for our schedule the next couple of months. So what do I do?? I look for ways to keep our family favorites but speed up the process or in today's recipe's case - how to make a family favorite an on the go favorite too. 

See we have chickens with our neighbors so there is never a shortage of eggs around our house. We also all love spinach. Quiche with spinach is one of our all time favorite meals. I have also gone on to make egg muffins that contain the same ingredients but yet quicker for morning time. However taking these muffins on the go just doesn't work for me, I've tried it and they are too big. 

I started looking and found a recipe for Crustless Spinach Quiche cups - they are like mini egg muffins and oh so delicious. Yes, the recipes are very similar but these little "cups" are MUCH easier for on the go!!

Crustless Spinach Quiche Cups

1 tablespoon EVOO

2 cups fresh spinach (you can use frozen but the taste I feel is so much better with fresh spinach)

5 eggs

1 cup bell peppers, chopped thin(any color, I like all the colors so I added a few of each to make a cup)

1/2 cup onion, chopped thin

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions...

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2. Using a mini muffin pan lightly spray so cups don't stick

3. Heat EVOO in large skillet, add onions and peppers and sauté until they are soft ~ 5-6 minutes

4. Add spinach into same skillet, mix around so spinach cooks down ~ 3-4 minutes

5. Add these ingredients to a large mixing bowl

6. Add eggs, cheeses, salt, and pepper and combine well

7. Divide mixture evenly in mini muffin pan

8. Bake for about 25 minutes or until egg is well set and toothpick comes out clean from the center. 

Either enjoy while cups are warm or let cool and individually wrap each muffin so you can heat up and take on the go at a later time!!

Now these can either be breakfast or morning snack. If morning snack and taking it to school, I would warm, wrap in tinfoil, the place in a thermos type container. By doing this it will stay warm enough for your school kid to enjoy in the morning!!

Eating healthy is important to me and I am doing my best to teach my children why eating healthy is so important no what who you are, what age you are, or where you are. 

I choose to eat healthy and feed my family healthy foods!!

Would you like to eat healthier or maybe have your family eat healthier too? 

I CAN HELP

I started off on this journey lost in when it came to eating healthy and now I am proud to say I am a healthier eating and I am well on my way to having a family that eats healthy too. For the most part they eat what I eat. 

Sound like something you would like to do as well? 

or maybe you want to join me on my quest for finding quick, healthy, and delicious meals/snacks for back to school?  

If so, I invite you to CONTACT ME and we can discuss next steps depending on your goals!! Absolutely NO OBLIGATION to do a thing, no pressure and instead know I love doing what I do - helping others live a healthier, happier, more fit lifestyle!! 

Can't wait to hear from you!

Now is the time to learn how to live a 

FIT, HAPPY, and HEALTHY Life 

and we will do it 

TOGETHER!!!!

~Alyson

alysonhorcher@gmail.com

teambeachbody.com/alysonh

myshakeology.com/alysonh

facebook.com/alyson.horcher

Meal Planning saves the DAY!!

Another week to be grateful, Another week to focus on staying on track! 

How do I do that?!?!

 I PLAN!!

I plan my week and first I start with appointments and other obligations and then next I plan our meals and my workouts. Doing all of this has made my life so much easier and it has also helped us save money. 

I love when people tell me that eating healthy costs too much! 

In my opinion not eating healthy costs way more!! I use to spend a boat load more at the grocery store than I do now and I rarely have wasted food in my fridge. Whereas before I would forget about food in the fridge and then by the time I remembered it would be bad. 

Well here is how I stay on track  - like I said I PLAN!!

Here is my plan for the week!!

I am in Week 4 of PiYo and I am also following the PiYO Nutrition plan so that is why you see letter and numbers in parentheses below my meals. This is my way of keeping track of my food groups. 

I am also loving PiYo. It seems like my body is adjusting quite nicely to the program and I am just amazed at how great of a workout you can get!! I am also doing this along with my PiYo Release Test Group and I love to hear all the positive feedback from the other participants as well. The changes we are all seeing with PiYo has us all wanting MORE!! 

So let me ask you this...do you have health and fitness goals you would like to achieve?

Did you make a plan for the week? 

I say that is your first step and then next is start keeping a food journal. 

Your next step is to join me in my next health and fitness group where I will help you get on track, stay on track, and build healthy habits to last a lifetime!

If you are interested I invite you to join me!!

All you have to do is CONTACT ME and I will take care of the rest!! 

Now is the time to learn how to live a 

FIT, HAPPY, and HEALTHY Life 

and we will do it 

TOGETHER!!!!

~Alyson

alysonhorcher@gmail.com

teambeachbody.com/alysonh

myshakeology.com/alysonh

facebook.com/alyson.horcher