When and why did you decide to start your weight loss journey?

I started my journey in February 2013

What keeps you motivated along your journey?

It may sound moot, but my children. I had gotten to a point where I was very unhealthy, and thought that I was having a heart attack due to my, what seemed to be “overnight” weight gain. My children mean more than the world to me, so I had to do something for them.

What are your fitness goals?

My fitness goals are to run a 50k in 2015. I am about to scratch off my very first full marathon in March of this year. I never saw myself doing more than a 5k, now here I am.

What does your weekly exercise schedule look like?

I work out (run) 7 days a week. I have been doing a running streak for a little over 100 days so far.

What nutritional goals do you strive for?

I just started living a Paleolithic lifestyle. So I am focusing on clean eating, to the best of my ability.

What “tips and / or tricks” do you have for others?

Take lots of pictures. Trust me you will have more non-scale victories then you will scaled victories.

How has your life changed since the start of your weight loss journey?

Yes it has. I have more energy, I am able to do more things. I feel great both inside and out of my skin.

What are some of your favorite motivational thoughts and / or quotes that inspire you?

     If You’re Tired Of Staring Over, Then Stop Giving Up

You can follow Michelle on the following social media site:

https://www.facebook.com/happypacerunner

It is a new year, full of opportunities.  I am choosing to make my fitness lifestyle a little bit better, for me. My fitness resolution is Wholesome & Fit – Lean in 15.  

I am committing to working out 6 days a week.  I am running 3 days of the week and doing a PiYO / P90X3 Hybrid that I printed off of the BeachBody website.  I am not going to be doubling up on longer workouts, I don’t want to burn myself out, it is all about moderation for me this year.  I may however, squeeze in a few squats, push-ups, or crunches throughout the day, or a 7 minute workout here or there. Balance is KEY!!!

Last week I logged all my workouts, whether they were good or bad, if I was positive or not. I enjoyed doing this and it has also given me some insight to my workouts, what days I struggle with, what program I struggle with, and what I love about my workouts. 

I hope you enjoy reading about my Wholesome & Fit – Lean in 15 Journey.

Day 1 of my "Lean in 15" workout. Today was PiYO Sculpt, I haven't done this workout in a while ... and boy could I tell. I'm proud of myself for getting up early and getting back on track. At the same time I'm a little mad at myself for slacking so bad in the second part of December. Even though I'm not going to let that stop me, I know what I'm capable of and I'm going to get back there, and past it!

Day 3 of Lean in 15
Well, I got up at 4:30, s l o w l y out of bed, started my workout. During the warm up my daughter needed to go potty and wanted to stay up ... um nope. Finally got her back to bed and a few minutes later my son came out because he had a bad dream, poor buddy he wanted to snuggle, so we did, and finally got him back to bed. Did about 15 minutes of P90X3 Agility and I am just not feeling it, not sure why. So, I'm going to get my coffee and get ready for the day. Next time Agility X, I will complete you!

Day 4 of Lean in 15 has been an interesting day! 

Not so great, so far, exercise wise. Didn't sleep well last night, got up an hour late (thus missing my workout time). Went to get eggs out of the fridge for breakfast to find that a bag of Posole had thawed out ALL OVER THE FRIDGE! So, I cleaned the fridge, one of my least favorite things to do, and it took me almost 2 hours! And why stop there ... so I cleaned the entire house. It's 2:40 and I just sat down for the first time today. 
Not sure if I'm going to be able to squeeze in a run today or not, we shall see where the rest of the day takes us.

Day 4 update: did PiYO Core just now and will run tomorrow, since I couldn't run today. Look at me being flexible …ha-ha

Day 6 - it took me till 2 pm to get my motivation to go for a run, and I'm glad I finally found my motivation today. I'm feeling great after my 3 mile run on the treadmill.

Day 7 - Wholesome & Fit - Lean in 15 

Today is my rest day / prep day for the week. I'm planning out my exercises for the week in my planner along with my goals and outcomes. This week in trying to focus on "being human" and not putting to much pressure on myself to be perfect, but to be the best me I can.

Liz Bollini

32 (until Jan 26, lol!)

30lbs weight loss

When and why did you decide to start your weight loss journey?

I decided to get motivated to start living healthy in January of 2011.  I was sick and tired of not feeling good in my own skin and my clothes not fitting right.  I knew I needed to change so I could get back to my happy, confident self for me and my family.

What keeps you motivated along your journey?

My family is my "why" for doing this.  They are my #1 priority and I need to be authentically me so that I can be happy and give them my 100% self. They deserve that.

What are your fitness goals?

My fitness goals now are just to be better than I was the day before, continue to live healthy and inspire others along the way.

What does your weekly exercise schedule look like?

My weekly exercise schedule consists of 6 days a week of working out Monday-Saturday, at least 30 minutes of some sort of exercise.  I like to mix it up with at home workouts that consist of cardio, HIIT training & strength training with weights.  I also teach PiYO at a local gym, so I consider that my weekly stretch workout.  Stretch is so important, don't skip this vital part of working out!

What nutritional goals do you strive for?

Nutritionally I aim to eat as clean as possible 80% of the time, meaning I stick to whole foods, lots of veggies, fruit, whole grains, healthy fats and lean meats.

What “tips and / or tricks” do you have for others?

My best advice is to look at fitness and clean eating as a lifestyle and as a journey that is continuous.  The sooner you can wrap your brain around the fact that this is your LIFE and it will always be a part of your daily routine, the sooner you will adapt to just living this way and it's not a chore or a fad anymore.  With nutrition, get good at reading food labels.  If it has more than 10g of sugar in it put it back.  Eat whole foods, think to yourself, 'Did this come from the earth?', if it didn't and it's packaged, boxed or bagged, it's not the best for you.  And if you can't pronounce an ingredient on the food label, you probably shouldn't be eating it.

How has your life changed since the start of your weight loss journey?

Oh wow, how has it not changed, more like it!  4 years when I started this journey I was someone who was 30lbs overweight, shy, insecure, no goals and no purpose, I was just going through the motions working my 9-5 job as a marketing executive.  I guess you could say I was existing, not living.  Fast forward to now, I am nowhere near the same person I was 4 years ago.  I'm extremely happy, confident, goal oriented and have since built an at home fitness business that now serves thousands of people in helping them achieve not only their fitness goals, but their life goals.  I teach people how to LIVE and not just exist. Health and fitness is just the path I choose to take to get them there.

What are some of your favorite motivational thoughts and / or quotes that inspire you?

I've always loved the saying, "You are the 5 people you choose to surround yourself with, choose wisely".    Why?  Well, I truly believe it takes more than just healthy eating and working out to achieve your fitness goals and keep them long term.  Anyone can lose weight by doing those things, the struggle and challenge is to maintain it and live it.  If you don't have people around you who have the same frame of mind that you do pushing you to be better than you were the day before then eventually you get lost in the mix and lose sight of your purpose.  Surround yourself with like-minded people, who have your best interest in mind.

You can follow Liz on the following social media sites

www.lizbollini.com

www.youtube.com/lizbollini

www.facebook.com/liz.bollini

So I must admit that I slacked major over Christmas, OK, so pretty much the second half of December, BLAH!  Let me tell you, I felt it in today’s workout! Today was day one of my new workout program and eating regimen. I got up at 4:30 am and started my work out a little before 5.  Today I did PiYO Sculpt, a workout I have done a bunch before and today was the hardest! I struggled through it, I was shaking, I was sweating like crazy, and I felt like giving up. But I didn't and it felt amazing when I was done. 

To be honest I am a little mad at myself for slacking so bad in the second part of December. Even though I'm not going to let that stop me, I know what I'm capable of and I'm going to get back there, and past it! Yes, that is right, this is the year that I hit my goal weight! I am totally focused and very capable of achieving this.

Why is it so easy to lose stamina, cardio endurance, muscle strength, and so hard to get it back.  It doesn’t seem fair!  Just like it is so easy to gain weight but it is a different story trying to lose it, why is that? However, knowing this, I am going to keep it (my stamina, endurance and strength), not slack and hit my fitness and nutrition goals!

This is my year to be “Lean in 15”