Ms. Bling's Tips For A Healthier and Happier Holiday Meal

With Thanksgiving just a couple of days away, now is the perfect time to start planning for a healthier and happier holiday. To help you get started I have made a list of my favorite healthy Thanksgiving tips ot share with you.  For instance getting the whole family active before and after the meal and getting them involved in the preparation of your yummy yet healthy dishes.

Be Prepared:

Make sure you take some time to plan your healthier dishes, shop for all of your ingredients, plan your before and after meal activities and that you pre-plan ways to get the kids involved.  Getting kids involved at an early age will help them make better food choices for life!

Eat Breakfast:

This is extremely important so that you are famished by the time Thanksgiving is served and overindulge yourself.  Make sure breakfast is something healthy.  I will be having Shakeology but if you aren't drinking Shakeology try some egg whites with some turkey bacon.

Get Moving Early:

Make sure you don't skip your workout just because it is a holiday.  On holidays it is even more important to work off some calories so you can have some extra treats.  Also you should do it in the morning so that you don't make excuses later.  Involve the whole family in an early morning walk where you can share things you are thankful for in your community.

Involve The Kids With Meal Preparation:

By letting them help they will get to see all of the yummy stuff they are about to put into their tummies.  They will also feel more connected to the healthier foods and be more likely to make better food choices in their future.  Explain to them what the ingredients are and why you are using those ingredients (such as low sodium broth instead of real butter to flavor stuffing).  Teaching your children the value of food and nutrition and how it helps to fuel your body is vital to their future eating habits so start now if you haven't already.

Stay Hydrated:

Sometimes our body confuses being thirsty with being hungry so especially on the holdiays make sure you are drinking plenty of water throughout the day.

Be Conscious Of What You Put On Your Plate:

Remember that whatever you eat today is going to work itself off so start with lots of veggies that are either raw, steamed or grilled with a low-fat cooking spray.  Also stick with white meat from the turkey and always peel off the skin.  When loading up your plate go easy on the carbs such as stuffing, bread, pasta, anything sugary, potatoes and gravy.  While carbs may be delicious they should be enjoyed in moderation if you want to keep your weight under control.  Anything that you know once you start eating it you will not stop should not touch your plate.  I am sure you will have plenty of other options so steer clear of any foods that are triggers for overeating.  Also start with small portions so you don't overeat just because it is on your plate.

Control Your Eating:

By this I simply mean don't just inhale your food because it is so delicious and you have been waiting for an entire year for this day!  Eat slowly.  Chew your food well.  Drink plenty of water with your meal.  When you are full STEP AWAY FROM THE PLATE!

Start New Active Traditions:

After the meal start some new traditions that involve being active.  Not only will it bring your family closer together but you will be up and moving and working off some of those dinner calories.  Maybe you could start a traditional scavenger hunt where the family divides up into teams and they will search for things that they are thankful for on this day and every day.  Or you could involve everyone in the clean up by preparing jobs for everyone ahead of time and then everyone will get to spend more time together.  Or you could play active games such as charades or musical chairs.

What are your favorite tips for staying healthy and active through the holidays?  Please share below or on my Facebook page.

Happy Holidays from Ms. Bling :)

The Power of a Challenge Group

Today I want to talk about the power of a challenge group.  For those of you who continually see my posts about my challenge groups and have thought about it I am going to show you what a challenge group has done for me.

Prior to becoming a Beachbody coach I had never heard of these challenge groups.  I have ran several challenge groups in the past and am learning more and more about how to help people the most (which is why I became a coach... to help others).  As you all know I still have just a little way to go but I AM GOING and NOTHING is going to stop me.

I recently (on September 4th) joined my first challenge group as a participant where there was a prize involved.  The competitive challenger in me came out and I kicked butt for the six weeks that the challenge ran.  The other people in the group were so supportive and every single day I was surrounded by people who were working on the same goal as myself which kept me going strong every single day.  I had been stuck in the 140's since June and even though I was running challenge groups and exercising and eating healthy I was not able to break into the 130's.  Being part of this group gave me the extra push that I needed and I am happy to report that as of this morning (that challenge group ended yesterday) I weighed in at 134.2.  During the 6-week challenge here is what I lost:

Inches lost: 

Right arm: 1"
Left arm: 3/4"
Right leg: 1 3/4
Left leg: 2 1/4"
Waist: 2 1/4"
Hips: 2"
Chest: 2"
Weight lost: 

9 pounds

Did I have to pay to enter this challenge?  Yes I did.  Was it worth it?  You tell me.  What would those results be worth to you?  

I am starting my next challenge group Starting At Square One in 2 weeks.  The deadline to join my group is exactly one week from today.  If you are interested in more information just comment below or send me a message on my like page which is www.facebook.com/tinaballingerfitness.  This challenge I am going to shed these last few pounds that I need to lose and I want to help you reach your goals as well.  

I look forward to hearing from you!  Have a great day friends and thanks as always for your support :)

Here is the video invitation to my challenge group which explains in greater detail how the challenge works:

Is Life Getting in the Way of Your Life?

Today I realized that I am finally starting to feel like I have a life.  I know that may sound a little weird because everyone who is alive has a life so I will explain.  I have had a life since I was born, this is very true.  However I had the life that others wanted me to have.  You might be thinking that is not that if I was living the life others wanted me to have then that was my own fault because we all get to choose our own life.  The problem was that I did not know that I was not leading the life that I wanted to lead.  I am 47 years old and I am just realizing that all these years I have been living a life that was not my ideal life.  How did I not know this?  The best answer that I can come up with is that I was just going with the flow.

In high school my guidance counselor said I should go to Alice Lloyd College because I could get a full scholarship so that is where I went.  That is not what I wanted to do but I did what he suggested because I thought he knew better than I what course I should take.  My whole life I had wanted to go to The Ohio State University and become a psychiatrist.  THAT was my dream.  But I did what he suggested and did not even try to pursue my own dream.

After college my mother got very sick and I moved with her back to Ohio to be close to our family so that she would be looked after while I worked.  I am not saying that I regret that decision at all but I was not pursuing my own dreams.

Fast forward to 1999 when I had my son and my life became all about him.  As a parent your child should definitely be your priority but if you don't have a life that you love then how happy can you really make your child.  I guess a better way to put it would be that your child will experience more happiness if you are at your happiest but I just never thought of it that way I suppose.

If you have been following my Facebook like page or this blog or have watched any of my YouTube videos then you may be somewhat familiar with my life and my struggles.  Year after year I was finding myself dealing with issues such as my stepfather passing away in 2006, I bought my first home in 2007 and 7 days after I moved in my father died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 59, in 2008 I had a lot of medical issues, over the past 6 years I have had a lot of relationship issues and issues with my weight.  I could literally go on and on and I am sure you could swap stories with me about your struggles.  Those struggles are called life and things happen and are going to continue to happen.  One of my favorite new quotes goes something like this "Yeah that happened but it doesn't matter that it happened what matters is what are you going to do about it?"  That is my version of the quote and how I choose to paraphrase it because I now realize that shit happens.  Shit happens to everyone.  The only thing that matters is what are you going to do about it.  A really simple way to put it is that how you react to what happens around you is what determines your life.  YOU are in control so what are you going to do about it because that decision or choice that you make will determine how your life is going to go or what direction your life is going to take or your attitude.  In the past I was making choices like hating myself, eating away the stress, staying in unhealthy relationships and situations just to appease someone else but not any more.  The new me is confident, strong, self-loving, and I have a new passion for life.  I don't want to just exist any more and I don't want to let "life" get in the way of my life, my vision, my dreams.  IS LIFE GETTING IN THE WAY OF YOUR LIFE?

As always thank you so much for being here for me and your continued support.  If you enjoy my blog posts then please follow me on my blog, on my Facebook page, and/or my YouTube channel..  Have a great day!

*** Ms. Bling's Bloopers Take 999 ***

Have you watched any of my videos?  I have had several people tell me that I inspire them and a few have even said that they wish they were as comfortable on camera as I am.  The truth is that when I am recording a video it takes me many, many tries to get it right!  In fact I have a touch of ADD and if you watch this video blooper you will see my ADD at it's finest.  I was supposed to be recording a video to introduce myself to a new group that I am in and this was one of the many takes that I did before getting it right!

WARNING:  You may want to put on some Depends before viewing ;)

Comment below if you would like to see more bloopers from me in the future.  Thanks for checking out my blog and have a great night!!!

I Am Not An Overnight Success and You Won't Be Either

Are you trying to lose weight but getting discouraged because it isn't coming off as fast as you would like or as fast as you think it should?  Well let me tell you my friend that I have been there, done that, and bought the damn t-shirt, mug and souvenir spoon!  This time it is different for me and I am not giving up on myself or my scale but dang it have I gotten impatient at times and wanted to just give up.  The reason I started this blog (which has become my escape, therapy, motivation, inspiration and so much more) was to make sure I could look back at myself and how I used to be and NEVER go back to being THAT GIRL.   I know you are thinking that my old ass is not a girl and if you are just thinking of my age then ding, ding, ding we have a winner because you are correct.  However, in my mind I was still a girl that let other people define me and my self worth.  Because I didn't value myself enough to do it for myself, I would fail every single time that I tried to lose weight.  I would lose 10, 15, 20 pounds and then I would have a bad day or week for whatever reason and I would just say screw it I am meant to be fat.  Or I would say that I was at least better than I was before even though I had not reached my goal and then I would just stop trying.  Eventually I would put back on all the lost weight and then some.

So what makes this time different for me you might be asking (or I might be asking it for you lol)?  The difference this time is ME!  I am not doing this to impress someone, or to fit into a dress for a special event in the future, I am doing it for ME so that I can prove to myself that I deserve it, I am worth it, and I can do ANYTHING that I set my mind to do.  This is not about being skinny or looking good (well maybe a little... ok a lot... about looking good) but it is about being the best me for me.  I have a son and I love him more than life itself and I have tried in the past to do it for him because I want to be around to make his life miserable (just kidding of course- everyone says the gooey stuff so I am trying to keep it fresh) for as long as possible.  That didn't work because I can't do it for him or anyone else.  I have to do it for me and that is what I am doing.  By being the best me for me, I can be the best mom for my son.

If you have been following my journey at all you know that I started on 2.17.14 and today is 10.14.14 so it has been almost 8 months.  Right now I am down to 136 pounds (I weighed 176 at the largest that was documented by a doctor) and I still have at least 10 pounds if not more to lose.  Do I look better and feel better than I did?  Heck yeah!  But I am not stopping because I am not at my goal yet.  You might be thinking to yourself (or I might be thinking for you again) that it has been 8 months so what is taking you so long?  I am so glad that you asked me that question.  Please let me explain.

Three years ago in September I was so miserable and I thought I had hit my all time lowest point and I didn't know what to do but I knew that I had to do something.  So I did what fat girl Tina thought was a great idea and I surfed the internet and found a doctor that would prescribe me diet pills.  I made an appointment and went and got those magic little Adipex pills.  Man those things are awesome if you want to lose some quick weight and I did shred some pounds.  I think within 3 months I had lost 20 pounds.  But after 3 months they will no longer give you those magic little pills so guess what happened?  If you guessed that I gradually put all of that weight back on because my silly fat ass thought that swallowing magic pills would make me skinny forever then ding, ding, ding you have just won for the second time while reading this post.  Not only did I gain the weight back but I had lost the weight in a very unsafe and unhealthy manner.  Looking back that was a HORRIBLE choice but I can't turn back time.

Fast forward to January of 2014 and I was back at the bottom of my pit trying to dig myself out.  If you want to read about my journey you can click here to read all about how I got started and where I have been so far along the way.  Has this been easy?  I would be lying if I said yes so the answer is no it has not been easy.  Has this been worth it?  The answer is I AM WORTH IT so I am never giving up again.  I finally believe in myself and that is the game changer.  I am no longer looking for a magic pill, I don't need anyone else's approval of me, and I have ditched my excuses for good this time.  Sure it is taking me a while but when I fall down, I get back up instead of giving up.  This time I am doing it the healthy way which means changing my lifestyle which is not going to happen overnight.  I didn't get to 176 pounds over night and I am not going to get back down to 120 pounds over night.  Patience is something that I struggle with but the new me is learning to be patient.  If you can relate to my story I hope that this post will encourage, motivate or inspire you to give yourself a break and take a crack at the whole patience concept.  IT WORKS :)   Have a great day friends and as always thank you so much for your support.  If you enjoy my posts please follow my blog (you can do so in the right column... go ahead just look to your right and scroll until you find the follow me widget).  You can also follow me on Facebook by liking my Facebook fan page.  And if you just simply can't get enough Tina Bling in your life you can subscribe to my YouTube channel.  Thank you if you are still here but now go have a fabulous day you sexy beast!!

Do You Value You?

On February 17th, 2014 I started a journey to lose weight and become healthier.  At that time I had absolutely no idea how different my life was about to become and how much I would discover about myself that I did not know before.  I've lived with myself for 47 years so I thought I knew myself pretty well.  As it turns out I wasn't just hiding myself from the rest of the world but I was also hiding from myself.

Throughout this journey I have been trying to keep it real and be as open and honest as I can possibly be because if there is even one person who hears my story that I can inspire, motivate or just reach to let them know that they are not alone then this will be worth it.  At this time I think it is important to share a little more about my story with you so here goes (deep breath).

Until I was about 8 or 9 years old I remember my life as being like a story book childhood.  We lived in brand new houses and went on vacations to Disney World every year.  Looking back I think that my memories seem so ideal because I was too young to realize the reality that we were actually living in (my sister and I).  I think I was about 9 years old the first time that I walked into the living room and caught my father holding my mother down on the living room floor and beating her head into the floor.  I am convinced to this day that if I had not walked in he would have killed her.  My father was a raging alcoholic and compulsive gambler.  I was always sympathetic to his situation because when he was 16 and his only brother was 19 (those are the ages as I remember them but could be a little off... it was too painful for my dad for me to talk about it with him) his brother died tragically in a car accident.  My grandmother went into a catatonic state and my father was devastated.  I have never had anything that tragic happen to me so I can't imagine what that would be like but I know it had to have been horrific.  I always just thought that he turned to alcohol and gambling to try to ease that pain.  Anyway, after that first memory I have so many other horrible memories that there are too many to write but there was one other one that I will never forget that truly scarred me for life.  One night I just remember that my dad was driving and my mother was in the front seat of the car and my sister and I were in the back seat.  My father was beyond irate and we were parked.  My parents were arguing and it was crazy scary.  At one point my father turned to me and my sister and told us what a whore our mother was and that she was having an affair with someone.  He went on to say that she had gotten pregnant and had an abortion.  I was 9 and didn't even know what sex was but he went on to explain to us what an abortion was.  I do not think that was true at all my father was just trying to hurt my mother.  But what he did to me and my sister's young minds (she is a year and a half younger than me) was irreversible.  The horrible arguing, physical and mental abuse, and our parents putting my sister and I smack in the middle trying to pit against one another lasted for about 3 or 4 more years.  Even after the divorce my father tried to ruin my mother's life and often used my sister and I as pawns.  He would not give my mother any money for child support and then he would take my sister and I shopping and buy us ridiculously expensive clothes just to rub it in her face that he had money and she did not.  My life when I was a young teenager was literally a living hell.

Once my parent's divorce was finalized and my sister, mother and I had been on our own for a few years, my mother decided to move us to Kentucky close to her brother and his family so we could get away from the craziness.  By that time my sister was already into drugs and being a full blown rebel.  She hated me and would just be horribly cruel to me because I was smart, did well in school, and had really good friends who were like me.  As soon as she turned 16 my father signed the papers so she could get married (then he was free from paying any more child support).

So I think I have shared enough that you are getting the picture of why I would want to hide from the world.  What I am discovering is that I thought my father hated me, that my mother was too wrapped up in herself to care about me, and my sister literally despised me and would do anything to hurt me.  Needless to say my self worth was very little.  If your own parents and sister don't value you then how can you value yourself?

Now I want to talk about value and what I am learning about my value.  In order for anything to mean anything to you it has to have a value to you.  For example if someone gave me a baby stroller that would have zero value to me because I do not have a baby nor do I ever plan on having another baby.  So if I had this stroller I would probably give it away or put it in my basement and never give it a second thought.  When something has no value to you then you don't care about that thing and you don't give it a second thought.  For me I saw no value in myself probably ever in my whole life.  I am beginning to realize that because I did not see any value in myself that I was not giving myself any attention.  Over the years I became increasingly overweight and although I didn't like how I felt I did nothing to change.  I think the only reason I decided to change is because I was becoming increasingly uncomfortable to the point that I wanted to lose weight to feel better physically.

Since starting on my journey I have been blogging about my feelings and experiences which has been such therapy for me.  I have also become a Beachbody coach and I am trying to be better every day than I was the day before.  Being a coach is keeping me accountable and is surrounding me with other people who have the same goals as me while I am helping others who are like me.  Every single day I am getting stronger and feeling better.  For the first time in my life I finally value myself.  I see myself as worthy of whatever I want.  I am no longer letting other people's actions define me and diminish my value.  I can not control what other people think or do, I can only control myself.   For the first time I am learning that I can be whatever I want to be and I am discovering that I want to just be me because I am pretty awesome.

Do you value you?  I implore everyone to dig deep down and find your own value.  The most important thing I want to say is that if you are a parent you need to instill value into your children.  Let them know they have value.  Next to that know your own value.  If you don't value yourself then no one else will value you either and YOU ARE SO VALUABLE!

So what is my value?  I am an awesome mom, I have a great career that I am really good at, I am smart, pretty, funny and fun.  Without me I would be nothing.  I am like a fine wine that is only getting better with age.  What is your value?  Do you value you?

WHY NOT ME?

Have you ever looked around at other people and wished you could be more like them but thought that there is no way you could do what they did or have what they have so you just kept going on with your life?  The post that I wrote the other day was about looking at those people and comparing yourself to them so I am not saying that you should compare yourself to them or that I am comparing myself to them.  What I am asking myself is if they can be skinny, why can't I be skinny?  If they can be successful and are able to live their dream life, why can't I be successful and live my dream life?  The answer is there is no reason that I can't be like them. 

The real question to ask here is how bad do I want to have what they have?  What are they doing that I am not doing?  The truth is that everyone is different and has to do what works best for them to get their desired results.  I am living proof that if you decide to something and commit to it, and I mean make a real commitment, that you can accomplish your goals.  By that I am talking about my weight loss goal.  I still have a few pounds to lose but I am so close that I can taste it.  I will never give up until I reach my goals.  The difference in them and me is the commitment.  I say I want stuff and there are things I would like to have or accomplish but I clearly haven't wanted them badly enough because I have not made the commitment (which means making time, making a plan, preparing and then working my ass off to make it happen!).  

This past weekend I finally started noticing a big change in my body and I am amazed at what I have been able to do which has got me thinking WHY NOT ME in the other aspects of my life.  Other people have healthy, happy relationships with a significant other so why not me?  I have always thought, and more so as the years go by, that I was not worthy of a great relationship but for the first time probably ever I am finally feeling like I am valuable so why not me?  

I also see some of the other people in my life who have amazing careers, love their jobs and are very successful and I have always been envious of them.  But again I am for the first time ever thinking if they can do it why not me?  After all they are just regular people like me, right?  So I am finding myself today just asking myself over and over WHY NOT ME???  As of this moment I am no longer going to ask that phrase but rather make that a statement.  WHY NOT ME!!!  I have so many things that I want to accomplish so I am going for it starting now.  WHY NOT ME!  I have a plan and I am mostly prepared now I just need to go and put in the time and effort and that is what I am going to do.

Is there something that you have always wanted to do but just thought you couldn't so you didn't even try?  I would love to hear your comments so post them below.  As always thanks for checking out my blog and have a fabulous day friends!