DOING IT!!!

Quick post ; ) Just want to touch base and talk about actually "DOING IT" and when i say that I mean, walking the walk of getting fit and healthy. For so long i would talk about how I wanted to loose weight and get in shape, how I needed to eat better, to be more motivated. All this talk would eventually make me even more frustrated because it would make me realize how lazy I was when it came to my health and also that I was full of CRAP when I talked about getting in shape.
The day that I stopped saying "I'm going to" and just did it was the best thing EVER!!!
To make a plan and stick to it is VERY empowering! WOW I mean I actually had control over this, no longer did I feel like I was loosing the battle.
YES it took time, and i am still a work in progress. I think that you just have to know that your health is an every day commitment, a completely worth while one!
These are a few things that I KNOW.....
Every day that I work out and I mean REALLY WORK OUT (lots of sweat,worn out,give it all ya got!) I feel GREAT!!! Better mood, more optimistic, JUST PLAIN GOOD!!!!
Every meal that I eat clean I feel nourished, I feel energized, I don't have feelings of guilt or remorse over what I just fed my body.
Every day that I finish and I have done the best I can, adds another brick to the AWESOME me that I am building!
Better for my health, for my mind, so in turn i am better for my kids and my family which makes me so happy ; )
So to sum it all up....STOP TALKING and START DOING!!!
I recently posted this....
MY PATENTED (not really) METHOD TO GETTING HEALTHY AND FIT...
THE STOP/START METHOD

If you are eating processed junk food STOP...START eating clean, healthy fresh fruits and veg, lean meats and some dairy.
If you drink sugar laden soda or soft drinks STOP....START drinking WATER H20 !!!
If your lazy and don't work out STOP...START moving, get active, DO SOMETHING!!!
Try these and let me know how its working out for you!!!

Are we getting healthy??? You BETTER BELIEVE FIT!

Trigger UN HAPPY!

I just want to take a minute to talk about trigger foods and binges. UGLY STUFF PEOPLE, JUST UGLY!!! I still struggle with the old mind set that once i have eaten one cookie or brownie that I might as well go ahead and get the whole pan and put ice cream on top and sit there and go into a sugar frenzy eating it. ITS NUTS!!! It has taken me A LONG time to get this into my skull that it does not have to be that way. If I have a cookie, i should be able to enjoy that one cookie and walk away. If there are foods that you know will send you into a binge or that will bring on the guilt so hard and heavy you just feel like giving up all your hard work and efforts , well you just have to decide what is more important.
 I know that I cant have cookies and cakes in my kitchen because I WILL EAT THEM!!! OH and PLEASE don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with a good old cookie. But there is something wrong when you can't have just one and walk away.
Self control is one of the hardest emotions to deal with when you LOVE food, and know this to be true, I LOVE FOOD!!!  I used to get mad, PISSED OFF because I would want to eat certain foods and I would struggle and wrestle with myself over whether it was worth it, should i, shouldn't I and then i would just cave.
But guess what, i finally figured somthing out. This took me about 3 years to figure out once I had decided to start getting healthy. I HAVE CONTROL! I feel a million times better physically when I don't eat the junk food, and a trillion times better mentally when I stop a binge dead in its tracks. That high I got from stuffing my face with all the forbidden food's will never ever match up to the feeling that has taken over me from gaining control over my health, my cravings, and myself.
So , YES, now and again I have a cookie or some cheesecake. I have these as a treat. Something to enjoy, not regret.

It is very hard when you have struggled with this for a long time. I KNOW. What I want you to know is that you can beat it, I WANT TO YELL IT, SCREAM IT, WRITE IT IN THE SKY if I must!!! YOU CAN BEAT THIS!!! You can, you can, you can. Gaining control of your life is a wonderful and precious thing. DONT LET THE CUPCAKES WIN : )

Are we getting healthy fit and happy??? YOU BETTER BELIEVE FIT!!!
www.facebook.com/BetterBelieveFit

A bit about me ; )

So I decided that in honor of reaching 2000 likes at Better Believe Fit, I would share with you a bit about myself and why I am so passionate about health. Not only am I amazed at how good healthy can feel, I am astounded at how simple it is to begin to bring health back into your life. I did not say EASY, just simple. EAT CLEAN, WORK HARD, LOVE YOURSELF!!! I just wanted to say that even though I love the fact that my body has rewarded me with dropping the weight and firming up, its even more rewarding to have control over my health.  : ) I relish knowing that what I am eating is actually benefiting me, its fueling my efforts in the gym, food is no longer a form of entertainment.For me personally to have done this, getting healthy, has changed my life for the better. I pray that you will dig deep and find what it is you need to reach your healthy, happy goals!

I have not always been healthy, far from it! I used to eat fast food ALOT, I would go through Burger King drive through on my way to work, super size EVERY THING and not think twice about doing it again for lunch. I never thought about nutritional content or ingredients, how what I was eating was making me feel. I went through times when I would try to loose weight, I would eat tiny amounts of food and by the end of the day I would be so hungry I would go nuts and binge on anything and everything I could get my hands on. Then I would feel so guilty and disgusted with myself I would purge. Even with that behaviour I still kept the weight on. I tried different diets...Atkins, Weight watchers points. They all led me right back to the junk food and the weight.
I was pretty depressed about the whole situation, but deep down inside I knew there was an answer. I also knew the answer required alot of hard work, and I was not sure if I was able to cut it.

About three years ago, i was in my closet going through my clothes trying to find one thing that fit. I started to wonder when was it that I stopped being important enough to make the effort to be healthy. That's when I decided it was time to make some changes. I bought a treadmill and I started to run for a minute and walk till I caught my breath and from there I just kept working at it. I took a long look at what I was eating. I cut out the junk food, tried to keep it healthy.My husband was a huge help, he had always been in a gym environment high school and college ball, weight training. He had loads of info he had gleaned from fitness magazines and online. IT WAS AWESOME!!! I really did it! I started to see amazing changes, i felt better the weight came off, I did not feel so worthless. I felt and feel like I can face a challenge and win! HA HA then you know what I guess I got a little too cute for my own good and I got pregnant again LOL . Seriously we planned this pregnancy, I did gain weight but I worked out the whole time and I did not go hog wild on the eating like I did with my daughter. I tipped the scale at 211lbs when i delivered with my daughter. So after delivering my son in Sept. 2011 I got right back on track and into the gym, but I still was not really seeing the results I wanted.
I did more research online , read more, watched some great documentaries (Food Inc., Forks over Knives, Food Matters) that really really opened my eyes to what I was putting into my body was sooooooo super important. I knew it was one thing to try to eat healthy but I had never really understood what it meant to eat clean. I discovered the Eat Clean Diet, I read up on it. I mean what could be more simple than eating non processed whole foods THAT SIMPLE!!! Sensible portions, real food!

I have been eating clean for about a year now, and I have been running regularly and I added in HIIT work outs (AHHHMAZING!!) those 20 Min. fat blasters are spectacular!!! I HAVE ABS!!!
I follow some wonderful pages who really helped me with my work outs and inspire me alot. Get Fit Naturally is one of them! I thank Lori for all her AWESOME workouts that got me on the HIIT band wagon ; )

So here are the dreaded before and after pics ; ) Me before I decided to get healthy and me after a really sweaty work out about 3 weeks ago!

I am excited and inspired every day by what eating clean and hard work can do for you mind body and soul!!! Its a wonderful thing these bodies we have, lets give them what they crave!!! Are we getting happy and healthy??? You BETTER BELIEVE FIT!!!

XOXOX, Astrid!

So I had a though....I post AWESOME work outs EVERY day at www.facebook.com/BetterBelieveFit why not start on the blog too : D So here we go....Lets GET IT!!!!
Warm up with 50 Jumping Jacks

3-5 Sets Depending on your fitness level
10 Burpees
20 Bicycle Crunches
15 Push ups
30 Mountain Climbers
10 Tricep Push ups 
20 Leg lifts
30 hi Knees
60 Sec plank

Come on by the page every day for a new post and some inspiration, and while your at it come LIKE us on Facebook too!!!!! See ya there.....

Its OKAY to be PROUD!!!! I just want to go over a few things with you guys!
When you are on your journey to happy and healthy and fit, when you make it a whole day eating clean and its a first, or you manage to pump out those hard as he## regular push ups (admit it...they are hard when your a beginner!) or when you run your first mile...YOU SHOULD BE PROUD!!!!
Let those accomplishments carry you till you have another and another and soon your just pretty damn pleased with yourself all the time LOL its called being happy! Don't let people try to make you feel like your being self centered, or that your a show off. If you work hard, and your humble, pride is a good thing. I'm not saying walk around the office saying " HEY LOOK AT WHAT I CAN DO!!!" , although the first time you do a pull up its pretty hard not to ; ) Taking pride in your achievements is an important part of reaching personal goals! What fun would it be if every goal you reached you just swept under the rug and forgot about it, NONE!!!
So reward yourself however you see fit, and proudly wear that ear to ear grin all day if you want!!! IT'S OKAY!!!! ITS OKAY TO SAY " YAYYYYY ME!!!!!!"

Are you FLEXIBLE??? When it comes to your work outs if you always do them at the same time, day after day and you have an unexpected change in your schedule, do you skip it, say it's too late! No time now! OR....do you take a breath, and say "OH Well! i will fit it in later!"

We can so often stunt our progress by being inflexible, not willing to work around obstacles. There have been many days that I just had too much to do during the day and my normal time mid-morning that I take to work out was just jam packed with MUST DO things!!! ARGGHH I would feel frustrated and annoyed, and seemed to subconsciously make the decision that if I didn't do it then it would not happen. I have heard so many folks say " If i don't do it at such and such time it just ain't happening!" REALLY!!??! Is this really a true statement or just an out, an easy excuse that if you have a long busy day your exercise gets shoved on the back burner! I say EXCUSE!!!

All this seems to do is add to the frustration of the busy day, you have to remember that your work outs bring a wonderful and much needed element of stress relief into your life. Not to mention those fantastic little fellas ENDORPHINS!!! If I could see them I would KISS them! They have brought me out of a funk many a time ; )

Not only will you get a mood booster, your being good to your body, it needs this exercise, it wants to be healthy, to be strong so it can carry you through your next tough day with ease. Your mind wants the chance to decompress by focusing on just breathing and pushing through another set or another mile. You want it ,deep down to end your day with a feeling of accomplishment and happiness that you took the time, any time, just for you! Because your worth it and your AWESOME!!!!

So next time your schedule it a train wreck are you still gonna get that work out in??? YOU BETTER BELIEVE FIT!!!! <3 U!

MARCH 30 FOR 30 DAYS BURPEE CHALLENGE!!!!

OH YEAHHH!!! We are SO gonna do this!

I have listed all of you good and brave people who have jumped on my Burpee bandwagon : )

If you dont see you name, comment below and I will add you.

Please make sure to "LIKE" the page Better Believe Fit to ensure you are counted and kept up to date with the challenge! I WILL BE CHECKING UP ON YOU!

You can break the 30 up how you want, do them together...it doesn't matter just get them done!!!

Kim Zion,Creating a Family of Lettuce Heads,Sandy Hill, Shahidan Shamsid-Deen, Tanya Wright, Eva Waldrop Lewis, Alondra Mendoza, Barb Moore, Lisa Wartner Craker, Julia Curry, Sabatino John Candelori, Patty Caristo, Mindy Fitness Journey, Heather Carson, Jj Johnson-Royer, Melissa Artiga Flores, Esma Kokol, Wendy Irving Pollak, Tammy Mosier Yarbrough, Rindy Gahnz, Allyson Whitmore Haynes, Lindsay Adams, Stacie Foy Sloan, Christina Medina-Wise, Kelly Johnson, Michelle Cyr, Megan Haddock, Sandy Hill, Lisa Thomas, Jakki Spry, Danai Marie Shnauber, Jaosh-Cae-Hutchinson, Krystyna Ekiert-Saja, Andie Rains, Corrin Burns, LaShawna Roe, Debbie Johnson, Janine McFarland, Willemina Medema Flowers, LaReisha Wright-Adams, Leah Shaffer, Patty Caristo, danyelle Ramirez, Shawna Rauch, Dawn Cournoyer-Paquin, Kristin Castaneda, kathy Wogen Kinney, Kristen Gerard Zeimantz, Tracy Chick Griffin, Ruth Eaton Armstrong, Charlene Fleming-Primeau, Patricia Jason Van-Horn, Jen Beagle, Kelli Moore, Carrie Cloutier Laudone, Courtney Leih, Valerie Goebel Peterson, Rebecca Decker, Casares Scott Thomas, Michelle Gupta, Molly Simmons Fulton, Jenn Curtis Danasius, Evren Sener, Alondra Mendoza, Maureen Hayes, Helen Corbitt Malony, ELizabeth Drummond Kulesa, Deniqua Robinson, Shannon Acuavia-Cinque, Lindsay Adams, Kali Wilson.Dawn DiNardi,Angel White Henne,Michele DiNardi Fields

WHEEEWWW!!!! Thats a grand total of 73 Better Believe Fitters that will be blasting out the Burpees for the month of March!!!!