Shew! It's been a whirlwind of a few weeks recovering from reconstruction! I have to say that heading back into surgery I was NERVOUS.Mostly nervous of how I was going to feel after and honestly, just afraid it was going to cause me to take 5 steps backwards in my journey. But I have to say, at exactly two weeks post surgery, I feel more determined, positive and motivated then ever!

From the minute I knew what the plan was, I KNEW exactly how I was going to get back into the swing of things. It was such an easy decision because I've been there before. I can't wait to get started back up with the program that I originally started my journey with. PiYo.

You can read more about how I started my journey here, but let me just tell you that this program was PERFECT for me. I was limited on what I could do after treatment. I still had limited range of motion in my arms, very little strength and stamina and had gained 20 lbs during treatment. Well, this time around I don't have those extra 20 lbs, but I am back to needing to work on my range of motion and building my strength back up. And I know this program can do it.

I have a hard time looking back at these pictures, but at the same time, I'm proud of how far I've come! This was after just the first 30 days of PiYo! That's HALF of the program! In those first 30 days I lost 10 lbs and over 9.5 inches! I was amazed!

PiYo was perfect for me because I didn't have to jump. I didn't need weights. I wasn't straining my arms or my joints in any way. It was all low impact and exactly what I needed to start. All I needed was my own body weight and because the moves were all low impact (but still high intensity), it was the perfect combination. I was able to stretch, strengthen and stabilize pretty much every part of my body! Coming from the person that couldn't even carry the vacuum up the steps at the time, that's pretty good!

This is why I am so excited when folks decide to join our team with this program. Because I'm living proof that it WORKS! And it works no matter what your starting point is! If I can start with this program, ANYONE can! I have two more weeks left until I have the full go ahead to jump back into exercising, but you better believe I'll be ready come the beginning of May to pop in my PiYo DVDs. I would love to have some other folks join me too!

Would you give it a try for just 30 days?!

We can do it together with PiYo, Shakeology, AND a FREE 30-day trial membership to the Team Beachbody Club, which will give you the ability to stream your PiYo workouts on your laptop, tablet or phone!


Oh, and did I mention it's on SALE only for the month of April?!?!

Maybe you want to lose weight and burn fat without the high-impact jumps or complex choreography like I did. Maybe you want to just build lean muscle but don't want to lift heavy weights? Maybe you want the results like a more extreme program, but your body just isn't ready for that level yet? Maybe you really like Pilates and Yoga?! Maybe you don't want to have to buy a lot of equipment?!

If any of that sounds like what you are looking for, join me because I'm starting in May too!

Tasty Tuesday!!! Clean Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

It's Tasty Tuesday! 

This has quickly become one of our favorite week night recipes! Its quick, easy, simple ingredients and EVERYONE (including the kids) love it. And it's also great for making a few extra to easily grab and go for lunch the next day! This is a recipe from the new Insanity Max 30 nutrition guide. The suggest topping the burgers with avocado, lettuce and tomato. We also like to top ours with a little fresh cut cilantro! It just adds a little something extra to the flavor of the avocado. The sweet potato fries are a healthy baked version of everyone's favorite side. The sweet potato gives it a slightly different flavor, and the cayenne pepper gives it just the right kick!

Clean Turkey Burgers w/ Sweet Potato Fries

What You'll Need

Turkey Burgers

• 1 lb 93% lean ground turkey (we sometimes uses 99% lean turkey)
• 1 tbsp. organic fresh salsa per 7 oz of turkey
• Romaine lettuce 
• 1 avocado, sliced
• 1 tomato, sliced

Sweet Potato Fries

• 2 medium sweet potato, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Directions
For the turkey burgers, preheat oven to 375 degrees. (Or preheat a grill or broiler on high). Combine turkey and salsa in a medium bowl; mix well. Once mixed, form into patties of desired size. Bake or grill patties for about 6-7 minutes on each side, or until no longer pink in the middle. Serve each patty over lettuce, tomato and avocado (and with some fresh cilantro too!)

For the sweet potato fries, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle with black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bake in the over for 30 minutes, turning over after 15 minutes. Bake until all sweet potatoes are cooked thoroughly.

Motivation Monday: Be Stronger Then Your Excuses

There are so many days where I come home from work and just start talking myself out of pushing play. Especially on those days when I got up early to work on coaching activities before work, then head off to my day job and put in a full day, filled with meetings and stress and firedrills. Then it's off to pick up The Squishy from school, and most likely, deal with some sort of meltdown because he didn't nap that day. 

>>>  I could say that I'm too tried from a long day of work.

>>>  I could say that I'll just do it tomorrow.

>>>  I could say that I have laundry or cleaning to do instead.

>>>  I could say that I don't have time. I'm just too busy.

>>>  I could say that I had pizza for lunch, so I might as well throw the whole day away.

>>>  I could find a thousand different excuses. Believe me, I've done it before. For years.

But  I already know what giving up like that feels like. And for once, I want to know what it feels like when I don't give up. I want to know what it feels like when I am finally stronger then my excuses.

Giving Back On World Cancer Day

I honestly had no idea that today was World Cancer Day. When I first heard about it my initial thoughts were something like....

"What the hell? Breast cancer has an entire month. Now cancer needs another day?"

Then I realized what #WorldCancerDay actually meant. It meant raising awareness and taking a proactive approach to the fight against cancer.

Solutions DO exist and they are completely within our reach.

The theme of World Cancer Day is "Not Beyond Us". Meaning that the ultimate solution will exist and is reachable. It's all about cancer prevention, early detection, treatment and care.

• Chose a healthy lifestyle because healthy lifestyles can lower your risk of cancer. 
• Early detection. For many types of cancers, there can be warning signs and symptoms. The benefits of early detection are indisputable.
• Treatment. Everyone should have the right for treatment, and without suffering some finanical hardship because of it.
• Quality of life. Everyone, cancer survivors and their caregivers deserve high quality and compassionate care and support!

So I was thinking about how I could give back, and I decided that since the nutrition changes that we made after I finished treatment made such a big impact on how I felt and how I recovered, that was a a great place for me to start.

Let me tell you, it wasn't an easy switch after treatment! There were things I didn't know about and learned the hard way. There were special circumstances that I had to deal with because of treatment that I never had to worry about before. And I didn't really know who to talk to about it.

I'm not a doctor. I'm not a nutritionist. I'm just a mom who has been through treatment and fumbled my way through, learning as I went. And I want to share what I have learned with others.

So starting on February 23rd, I'm running a completely free, 5-day, clean eating group for survivors! If I can just help one person, or help them to make one small change, it will be worth it.

If you would like to join, or know someone that might benefit from this group, please leave a comment or visit the event page HERE.