Leave me the hell alone...

That's me lately in a nutshell. I just want to be left alone. Wherever I am. I don't know if it's the weather since seasonal changes seems to affect my mood moreso than anything else but damn, I am irritable lately. I should be happy, I just lost 5.5 lbs in 3 days got back on the healthy eating track, worked out two days in a row (including today) so that leaves me with one question....where the hell are those endorphins?

But no...not me. I am not happy. In fact, after sitting down from my workout I am miserable. Writing this blog is annoying me. I intended to talk about my fitness goals and where I go from here...I guess I should get right to it, otherwise I'll be posting stuff like this:

Speaking of which, I NEED this shirt.

So fitness goals. I am going to amp up the cardio and hope to burn some fat. I'll keep doing Les Mills Combat which I love. Luckily, there are three versions I can rotate through. A 30 min for when I'm pressed for time, a 45 min one when I have a bit more time and a 60 min one when I'm feeling energetic and ambitions - I'll probably save those for the weekend. Thinking of doing 60 minutes after working all day and not starting until at least 8pm doesn't sound too appealing to me. And, forget working out in the morning. I have never been and will never be a morning person. Kudos to those who get up at 4:00am to get their workout in. For one thing, I'm a complete weirdo in that I would never be able to get up and just workout. I need coffee. I need a shower. Yes, a shower before I work out which then means I would have to shower again just 30 minutes later. Defeats the purpose I know but what can I say.

True story. There's a handful of people who know this. I have weird eating habits, I do weird things. Sue me. I'm me. Love me or leave me...the hell alone.

And we've come full circle to the title of this blog post.

Not much more to say really. I'm going to try to set up a meal plan for myself to follow. As much as I hated the 3 day refresh foods because I was so freakin hungry, I realize that having a plan really helped me keep on track. There was no, oh hey let me go buy a bag of trail mix and eat out the chocolate covered soy nuts. Or let me go to Boscov's and get some Chocolate Bridge Mix. My weakness lately. Bridge Mix. Who knew? Wanna know something else weird I do? I don't eat the nuts or raisins in the bridge mix (except for the chocolate covered almonds.) What do I do? I suck off the chocolate and put the nut in a bag. Steve can attest to this disgustingness. I do it with all chocolate really. Peanut butter cups? Eat around the peanut butter, throw away said peanut butter.

See. A little insight into my bizarro existence. But, mmm now I want bridge mix.
Luckily all I have to make here is a little sugar free pop and some PB2.

And with that, I'm going to do just that.

Court

3 Day Refresh...commence!

Man, I'm a mess lately...first of all it's been a little over three months since I even gave this page a thought. And it's for a lot of reasons. A lot of things that have taken place over the past few months that kind of shook my world for a little bit. And, when things shake my world, naturally I turn to chocolate and alcohol like a lot of folks do. After all, I'm human. A human that likes chocolate. Lots and lots and lots of chocolate.... I have to say though, I HAVE been good with my workouts, consistently working out 5/6 days out of the week, mainly doing Les Mills Combat which I love. I recently started incorporating Les Mills Pump into my schedule and I gotta say, there's something very powerful about lifting weights. Not necessarily becoming more powerful because of lifting (although that’s awesome too) but more so becoming more powerful in the mind. There’s something about lifting weights that makes you feel like you can conquer the world. And when you can do one more rep than the day before, it gives you a confidence that has a ripple effect throughout your life. Needless to say I love Les Mills Pump. I just need to be mindful of the back at all times and make sure I don’t overdo it. So far, so good.

What is NOT so good is the number I saw on the scale this morning. Sure, it’s a number and people say don’t pay attention to the number but I can’t help it. That number helps me stay accountable. And, even though I’ve been working out, clearly my nutrition is not on point since I gained 8 lbs since I last weighed myself. Blah. A mind-f for sure. (I AM hoping though some of that has to do with my weekend indulgence of drinking both Friday and Saturday nights and eating things I normally don’t eat….we shall see.) But… it’s also a good thing I decided (before I weighed myself) to do the 3 day refresh and try to get things under control. So I HAD to weigh myself and take measurements on Day 1 so I can see what it does when I check back in on Wed after it’s over. Steve and I are both doing it together. Which is actually helpful because I probably would’ve given up once Parker’s Cheez-Its came out as a snack this evening. He is preparing everything I need to eat when which is also awesome because I don’t have to think about it, just do it. If I actually had to read the book and figure out what I needed to eat when, it wouldn’t have happened. My ADD brain would’ve given up at the first sign of “prepping things.”






Sooooo. I will not post my weight here, sorry, just can’t do it… a number I’m most definitely not comfortable with… but…I will post my waist at 29” and my hips at 39” … so we’ll see how many inches I lost when I retake those measurements on Wednesday.

Now, about Day 1. This isn’t easy. After having four glasses of wine at Parker’s auction last night I woke up slightly hung over, this is on top of the few beers I had on Friday night of which I woke up hung over Saturday morning. Getting older is a bitch let me tell you. 37 is right around the corner and I’m beginning to realize I’m not 21 anymore. Then again I knew that at about 30. 7 years later, I’m still pretending I can hang. Trust me, I can’t.

So anyway, hung over Courtney has a tri-fecta of foods she eats to help ease the pain. First thing, egg and cheese bagel from Dunks. Extra cheese, extra egg. Yes, you read that right. Second thing, an eggplant parm sandwich with, yup, you guessed it, extra eggplant, extra parm. Haha And finally, a nice big bowl of fro-yo with chocolate sprinkles, chocolate carob chips and cookie dough bites. Yup. The tri-fecta. For many years this has worked like a charm. So you can imagine my body’s surprise when I decided to go the exact opposite direction and start a 3 day cleanse. All of which consisted today of 900 calories…shakes, fruits and veggies. My dinner was a bowl of cauliflower, broccoli and carrots in veggie broth with a vanilla protein shake. (Which, to be honest, the veggie soup was reallllly good as it had coconut oil in it with a little sea salt.) The only thing missing? Like 2 more servings of it. haha

So, talk about a shock to the system. My body is crying out terribly for those three foods that make everything so much better…. But, if I want to jumpstart things and change that number on the scale, I need to do this. So, here I am preparing for The Walking Dead (I totally feel like I should be in that today) but hey, at least I’m 33 1/3% done.

Anyway, I’ll keep y’all posted on the progress. Debating on whether to weigh myself tomorrow morning to see what, if any, progress has taken place. Knowing my penchant for instant gratification though that might not be good for me. If I see that I didn’t lose anything or see that I gained the first day (a normal reaction for some people) I might get disillusioned and head to Whole Foods for a Vegan Cookie.

We’ll see how it goes…wish me luck. And I promise to start posting things more regularly as I try and take this fitness thing to the next level and try to conquer some demons. Putting it out there in the world make it that much more real and hopefully y'all will hold me a bit more accountable. (Like when I'm going to reach for that 5th glass of wine...thanks) ha

Court

A lot has gone on these past six months....

Wow. 6 months have passed since my last blog post. That's kind of crazy but then again my life has been kind of crazy. I promise to get back to blogging more regularly and sharing my journey with y'all!
This time it's going to be more of a life journey than a weight loss/fitness journey. Of course that's a huge component of what I'm going to dedicate myself to but not entirely what I'm going to dedicate myself to. I vow to become a much better person, mom, wife, friend, co-worker...an overall better me. I feel like the past few months have really gotten me off track on who I am meant to be but I am dedicated to changing all of that and getting back on the straight and narrow and continuing down a path that I started to go down but somehow got sidetracked with everything.

Soooo much has gone on these past 6 months I'm not even sure where to begin. I had problems with my relationship, I have done some questionable things, I looked for a new job, got a new job, quit my job, hated my job, begged to come back to my job, came back to my job, lost weight, lost myself, gained some weight, lost myself some more, drank too much to deal with life, thought the grass was greener elsewhere, ate too much, ate too little, got drunk before a very important event, somehow pulled off a very important event.... I'm not even sure where to start. Sure, life is full of ups and downs but I need to find some type of balance and only I am responsible for creating that balance. So here's why I'm back blogging. To have you all to hold me accountable for creating the life I want to live. And it's so much more than the life I'm living now --- although it's getting better.

(Side note, 50 Shades of Grey preview just came on and I cannot wait to go see this movie...dying and counting down until the day it comes out in the theater!)

So bare with me, the next few blogs I'll fill you all in on what has happened the past 6 months... it's been a crazy ride. Then, on February 1st I'll weigh myself, take some measurements and share my fitness journey with everyone too. I just bought Les Mills Pump and excited to start lifting some weights and taking my body to the next level... I want to be a lean, mean dancing machine... more on that aspect of it later ;)

Until then, brace yourself for some highly entertaining stories, a snapshot of my life that past 6 months. Oh, you'll be entertained I'm sure.

xoxo,
Court

Damn You Sangria....(I'm Exhausted!)

It's been awhile!
Life gets in the way of my blogging and then well, I don't blog. Sorry about that.
In the past week, my little man Parker turned 4 (omg) and we had a great party for him Saturday! The days leading up to it were crazy. We ended up at Wegmans 5 out of the last 6 days before the party, for what I don't know but we always found things we actually needed when there. I swear Wegmans puts some subliminal messaging in that kick ass music they play to make you want to come back for anything.

I mean. It's Wegmans. Educate yo'self.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelysanders/why-wegmans-is-the-greatest-supermarket-ever

So yeah, the planning was crazy. I luckily was able to get the Westampton Emergency Services Department to stop by the party with their trucks, the gear and their fire dalmatian Jake. They rolled up at our house and Parker was beyond elated. It was the perfect start to what would be the perfect party!



I won't get into too much about the party other than we were blessed with such great family and friends who came, it ended with a Mister Softee surprise and then the supermoon. Couldn't have been better if it was all planned. Amazing weekend, so sad for it to come to an end... but looking forward to what the rest of the summer is going to bring. More family, more friends. Bring it on Summer '14! Took a lot of pics which I'm sure you already all saw on Facebook. Pictures for me are still so awkward even though I'm starting to realize that I am looking better in them...better meaning, more fit, more healthy, and just more happy...although when everyone wants to take a pic of me it's usually me feeling like this!



In any event, bringing it back to the party a little bit, I did end up drinking two large red solo cups of Senor Sangria aka the devil disguised in a bottle.



Now if you read my post a few before this you'll realize alcohol never was my friend and it reaffirmed that this morning. Even though I only had two glasses I felt horrible this afternoon and ended up taking a one hour nap!! UGH. So I decided I should just be done with it all. What's the point? I gave it one more try but really, I've done enough of that. I've lived enough. So yeah, not happy about the slight hangover from Mr. Senor BUT, I will give myself props because at 9:00 I knew I had to get my workout in since yesterday was a "rest" day. Somehow I got through it. If you want something bad enough, you make it happen. I sweated it out, kicked and punched my way through it and feel so much better!! Wasn't not going to do anything two days in a row!

Anyway, good news, I'm down 5.6 lbs in 3 weeks and 2 INCHES OFF OF MY WAIST! Yes, TWO INCHES IN THREE WEEKS! I can't believe it. I actually took a picture of my leg today too because it just looked smaller. I think I'm on point to get the results people get from the 9 week Les Mills Combat workout. An average of 15 lbs and 24 inches?! I can't even imagine that, but I'm well on my way!

So I persevered and here I am. Exhausted, on the couch. Getting ready to watch the very exciting first episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey because well, I'm from NJ and it entertains me.

That's all I have for today! Tomorrow is a new day, another day to start fresh, to make the most of the week! Live it up right. Be kind. Be happy and live with a grateful heart!



xoxo,
Court

PS: Have you followed the hubs amazing journey doing P90x3 and Shakeology? More than 31 lbs down and crazy body fat results!
Check it out: http://stevelovefitness.blogspot.com/2014/07/weigh-in-sunday-burnin-fat.html

I just ate about 10 lbs of tofu

So I have this unhealthy obsession with the tiny little triangle pieces of tofu at Whole Foods. Thank GOD whole foods is a good 20 minutes away from us otherwise I'd be ordering $10.50 salads every night. Today, I wasn't feeling myself and was craving those tiny little pieces of goodness so I subtly let the troops know and as soon as I got home from work we jumped in the car and headed over.

(Side note: I didn't even take a picture of it for this blog because I inhaled it so fast.)

But if you're familiar with the Whole Foods Salad Bar, you know what I'm talking about. That and a little cabbage crunch and it's heaven in a little cardboard container. But I seriously think I put in about 10 lbs of tofu and proceeded to each every. single. piece.

In the back of my head I was thinking, well it's a rest day, I'll just walk it off on the treadmill, no jumping around with Les Mills Combat tonight. WRONG. I misread the schedule and I have to somehow jump around and kick with what feels like a rock of tofu in my stomach doing 30 minute combat. Thank god it's only 30 minutes. If I saw a "6-0" I might've thrown in the towel. So, instead, I'm procrastinating writing this blog.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July. I stayed right on track with my diet, bringing my own food to a bbq on Saturday and making sure I got that dreaded 60 minute combat workout in before the party. I did have a half of glass of sangria at the party but that's all I needed! I even drove my family home. Can't remember the last time someone wasn't carting my ass home from a party like that. Things have changed. For the better.

Gearing up for another party on Saturday-my "baby's" 4 year old birthday. FOUR. I can't even believe it. Crazy how much time flies. Feels like four years ago when it was this day and I was a week late ready to pop and have my sweet pea already! And now here it is, FOUR years later and he's getting ready to go to pre-k in the fall. Unreal.



It's also a year that I herniated my disc so bad I was out of work, working from home for 3 months on my back on the couch.



The disc was so herniated, oozing out and pressing on the nerve I couldn't walk - every time I tried I would collapse in pain. After months of trying "conservative" methods including PT, pain meds, an inversion table, acupuncture, I opted to go under the knife and wouldn't you know it, I walked right out of the hospital. Rothman Institute was a godsend and gave me my life back. It was such a hard time in my life. I couldn't play with my son, I couldn't do normal things like getting dressed and walking downstairs, I couldn't do anything at all. Taking a shower made me want to give up on life and there were times I wondered if my life would ever be the same. I was in a dark, dark, dark, dark place. I can't emphasize dark enough.

And here I am almost a year to the day, kicking ass and taking names with Les Mills Combat. So if you have what I had, don't give up. There is a light at the end of the tunnel however dim it may be now! I remember crying practically every day from the pain and the situation and yet, still somehow I was able to work as if I was in the office (much to my mother's dismay!) But I was able to still rock it even with all the pressure of getting stuff done for the sales conference and now here I am a year later, getting ready for it now and can't wait for a much different experience this time. What a difference a year makes! I have more pics I need to track down from that unbelievable experience but I think it was on a computer that crashed...I'll have to see what I can track down.



OH and to update you on the actual weight loss/inches lost: I lost an inch and a half off of my waist so far in 2 weeks - down 5 lbs! 20 more to go! I got this!

I guess I should go throw some workout clothes and get it over with. Although once that music starts pumping and they start motivating me I know I'll put my all into it!



Until tomorrow!

xoxo,
Court

Burpees? Ain't nobody got time for that...

There's that saying...where there's a will, there's a way. At 7pm, I felt so incredibly drained I went upstairs to get changed and at 7:30 I had Steve and Parker looking for me because I never came back down. Where was I? Passed out on my bed, still in my clothes, and somehow I got under the blankets.



I don't know what happened. It's like it all just caught up to me and I was completely exhausted. I've been pretty tired lately. The days have been rough. I feel like I am juggling 30 balls in the air sometimes and it gets so overwhelming my body just shuts down. Frustrating for me because I want that energy, I want to feel good, I want to put my all in my workout. I keep thinking maybe I should get some bloodwork done to check for some kind of underlying autoimmune disease, or RA which they think I have due to this nodule that keeps popping up on my shoulder. I should probably do that huh?
Any doctors reading this blog?

Check it out-any ideas as to what this is welcome. It's painful, it hurts all the time and probably the reason why I'm so miserable and a bitch all the time. Or according to Steve I guess... The way I look at it is (and I'm trying to be more positive.) With my back going out almost a year to the day and being in pain from that to this shoulder issue immediately after that it's been 365 days of me being in some type of constant pain. You try and be f'n pleasant.



Anyway, I digress. So I got up at 7:30, got dressed, put Parker to bed and came downstairs. Looked at my Les Mills Combat schedule and almost cried. I could SWEAR today was 30 minute combat NOT high intensity shock plyo. I mean. Are you kidding me?? For 30 minutes straight I had to dig deep and jump around like a crazy person. Oh and did I mention burpees?



Apparently we had time for that. Lots and lots of time. Lots and lots of burpees. Lots and lots of lunges and squats and ski jumps. I'm dead to the world. But was it worth it? Of course it was worth it. Another workout in the books, almost 2 weeks down for Les Mills Combat and I'm feeling great (minus the whole second head on my shoulder and being tired and all. ha)

4 day weekend ahead with the fam, lots of fun stuff scheduled. Can't wait to relax, workout and eat my veggie burger on the 4th of July! Oh does anyone have any paleo alcoholic drink recipes? Clean eating libations? Let me know! :)

Til tomorrow!



xoxo,
Court

I'm down 3.4 lbs!!!

Hi everyone!

So good news to report. On Saturday I weighed myself and I was down 3.4 lbs! Woohoo!



I worked hard for those 3.4 lbs! Granted my diet was pretty decent too, at least 90% clean so I'm pretty happy with myself with that too. While my son was eating self-serve fro-yo (my weakness) I didn't flinch. I might have cried a little internally but I know when I hit my goal I'll allow myself to have treats. You only get one life after all and I'm not going to deprive myself from things I enjoy. What fun is that? I do, however, enjoy seeing that scale going down and excited to continue my journey to inspire others to get healthy and fit. Hoping for another big week today! Rocked out 3 days in a row with Les Mills Combat. I cannot say enough good things about this. If you want to feel like a warrior and kick your way to a new body to club music, you have GOT to try this. You can actually get it very reasonably on the Beachbody site - click on one of my banner ads and get some more info. You will NOT be disappointed!

Anyway, it's 11pm on a Monday and I'm beat from a very crazy day at work today so I'm making this very brief. I will for sure post longer tomorrow!

Keep pushing on... I'm thinking of starting a challenge group for fitness and weight loss to start mid-July. Let me know if you're interested. Looking for 5-10 women to rock it out with me. Let's do it together!



xoxo,
Court

"Do you eat sugar snap peas whole?

Just googled that. I have a nice fresh bag of sugar snap peas but I couldn't remember for the life of me if I needed to de-pod them or not. Then I found this gem of a recipe thanks to "The Arugula Files."

To make these, start by washing the pod and then cut the tips of each end. Toss in olive oil. In either in a grill basket or on a piece of foil, place on a hot grill. Grill for about 5 to 7 minutes or until slightly charred and tender.

Toss with a little sea salt and serve immediately with a dipping sauce.

Sriracha mayo is easy to make. Just combine store bought mayo with one or two tablespoons of Sriracha. Make it as spicy as you like.



Doesn't that sound AND LOOK amazing? I may have to try and grill these one day!

But I digress. I just got done with my "rest" day which for me is some quick cardio on the treadmill while the hubs was doing P90x3 on the TV. Have you seen his transformation? Crazy what he's done in only 60 days.

Kind of motivated me to start moving. I had started eating healthy, drinking Shakeology, every morning (which helped me to initially lose some weight just by replacing my breakfast with it every day!) and decided to try out Les Mills Combat WHICH. I. LOVE. I get bored with working out easy which is why I have never really stuck with anything. Initially in 1999 I lost a bunch of weight doing tae-bo - loved the whole kickboxing aspect of it. It really worked for me and my body type. So after Steve became a Beachbody coach I was looking at the products and decided to try out Les Mills. I'm a week in and I LOVE IT. Even after long days I get motivated by the coaches and by the music and the fact that I feel like a Mortal Combat warrior.
Yes, I just spent 15 minutes doing this.



Annyway, I'll be raiding my parents photo bin tomorrow so I can start to craft my story of going from a cute 3 year old to a chubbo young girl to struggling with my weight in high school, finally getting it together while in college only to go through a bad breakup and gain it all back and then I've been yo-yo-ing ever since. (PLUS, I had a baby in 2009 and gained a bunch of weight prior and had trouble losing it after and then I had back surgery last September 2013.)

I feel like I'm finally in a good enough place to talk about it without having to then shell out a $35 co-pay at my therapists's office anymore. My love hate relationship with food I THINK and I HOPE is finally under control.

I'll start diving in tomorrow and hoping that others can relate and be inspired with my story. Not many people know what I've gone through in my life. Thank god I'm still alive and here to talk about it today... I just hope that I can inspire others to find the peace within themselves to finally hold themselves accountable for their choices in life, to make good ones now in the present and even better ones in the future!

xoxo,
Court


Oh oh oh, before I forget. I'd love for you to signup and be on my team! It's free and I'll be sending out healthy recipes, motivational emails, workouts you can do, etc. Would love for you to sign up! Join now - it's fast and easy! Let's do this together!

PPS: Weigh in tomorrow. Eek.

My "Rest" Day!

Evening everyone!

Well, today was supposed to be my "rest" day according to my workout calendar for Les Mills Combat. I almost felt guilty resting so instead I decided to hop on my treadmill for 20 minutes. Gotta keep on moving. No rest days for me, I'll always try to stay active and get some type of cardio in on rest days since I sit at a desk all day and am pretty sedentary.

Diet going really well. Resisted the urge to buy dark chocolate covered nuts yesterday and opted for veggie chips. Today I took my son for fro-yo (my weakness with carob chips and chocolate sprinkles) and watched his little face enjoy it.



I hear 80% is diet so as long as I stay on this path, I'm progressing toward my fitness (and other) goals.

Tomorrow for throwback Thursday, I'll be sure to post some of my photos during my awkward stage...which really took place from about 6-20. :)

Off to bed I go, on the grind again tomorrow. Tomorrow is Plyo - doesn't sound good from what I remember from P90X!

xoxo,
Court

Day Three - Les Mills Combat COMPLETE!

Hi everyone!

Just got done rocking a 45 minute combat workout! This, after a LONNNNG day. Drove out to Lancaster to meet up with the parents, walked a lot, Parker swam in the pool, went on a buggy ride, then drove home. Completely exhausted and sunburned I contemplated throwing in the towel today and doing it tomorrow (my 1 of 2 rest days!) but I sucked it up and rocked it. That music is a godsend. Not to mention, Rach is totally motivational. I want to be her. Ok, that sounds creepy. I want to look like her. She's awesome. Keeps me motivated. Her and that modification girl that I sometimes need to follow when the jump kick is out of my spinal comfort zone.

Anyway it's 10:30 now and I'm beat. Need to get a few things done for work (the joy of taking a day off, trying to play catch up) and then pass out. Tomorrow should be a rest day per the calendar but that just feels wrong. So I'll probably hop on the treadmill for a 30 minute walk/run then do a little bit of weights.

Ohhh, we just got awesome news on the Beachbody team that Shakeology has been clinically verified to help people lose weight! Check out this video, it's awesome. This is the one thing that got me involved with this amazing company. The fact that this one shake starts my whole day off right and gets me the nutrition I need when I don't have time to get it from other meals. It's a busy mom's dream!! Check it out!

Shakeology!!

If you're interested in trying it, send me an email: CourtneyShaneLove@gmail.com or find me on Facebook - would love for you to follow my page there too :) I'll send you a free sample if you sign up with me as my coach and hey, if you even place an order I'll send you a FREE shaker :)

Leaving you with this for the night. Be Happy. Be Bright. Be You.
>

xoxo,
Court