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!!!!

I LOVE A HEALTHY HEART!!!

In honor of LOVE and Valentines day I wanted to talk to you about your heart! What makes your heart feel ten times bigger and full of happiness and love ???? Do not say "CHOCOLATE" or "GERARD BUTLER"!!! Well you can, but that's not what I mean.....I had the opportunity to talk with some friends about volunteering, donating your time for a worthy cause.
That has NOTHING to do with love and valentines....contraire mon frere..it has everything to do with that gorgeous love muscle we all have...YOUR HEART!!!

I asked my friend Emily a couple of questions about her experience with being a volunteer, here is her take on it.....

Q:Do you think it encourages you to make healthier choices physically and mentally?
A:It can. Knowing that you are being used to help others can push you to take better care of yourself so you don't let them down or so you can do even more.

Q:Have you noticed any changes in your health and well being since you started to donate your time?
A:It really helped me to keep things in perspective. It's so easy to turn our focus on ourselves, but being able to see others in need really helped me to be more thankful for my own circumstances.
Q: Has being a volunteer affected how you view yourself and how choose to treat yourself?
A:It really made me feel good about myself to see that my life was making a difference and also to be able to model volunteering for my children.

So let me give you my own take on it, I have had the chance to be blessed  with enough extra time that I could do some volunteering of my own. I used to take my daughter (4 at the time) up to the local nursing home with me and we would just go and sit with the residents and chat, sometimes i would read to them, or we would pray together. I would spend maybe an hour and a half with them, and I must tell you that the feeling they gave me of love and appreciation fills my heart up to this day. My daughter loved it too and it was a great experience for her to take all the focus from her daily life and cheer someone else up. Recently I was allowed to help out at a local food pantry, the people there come from all walks of life and are truly amazing. I helped box up food for an hour or so, that was it...nothing extravagant, easy to do. The interaction with the folks there was so wonderful, people so thankful to receive, and helpers just so loving and caring in how they treated everyone. I still feel overwhelmed and so happy to have been a part of that.
These great feeling that I get from the time I gave carry over into my every day life. Happy people make better choices, I know that I do.!

So do I think giving of your time is heart healthy??? HECK YEAH!!!!!! I believe 100% that a happy heart is a healthier heart. When I feel fulfilled in my life, when I feel happy, and that I have a purpose, I make better choices for myself...health wise, I feel worthy of hard efforts to improve myself...eating right, exercise, positive attitudes.

Still don't buy it....here are a few study results that may make you think twice about volunteering your free time.....

Americans' Changing Lives survey found that those who volunteered reported higher levels of happiness, life-satisfaction, self-esteem, a sense of control over life, and physical health

Researchers have also found that when patients with chronic or serious illness volunteer,

they receive benefits beyond what can be achieved through medical care.(Arnstein et al., 2002; Sullivan and Sullivan, 1997)

A number of studies demonstrate that those individuals who volunteer at an earlier point experience greater functional ability and better health outcomes later in life.

Using health and volunteering data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Center for Disease Control, we find that states with a high volunteer rate also have lower rates of mortality and incidences of heart disease. When comparing states, a general trend shows that health problems are more prevalent in states where volunteer rates are lowest.

AWESOME!!!! Healthier hearts, lower mortality rates! WHERE DO I SIGN UP?????

You can check out this link http://www.volunteermatch.org/  or you can go to any local non profit organization and I am sure they would be happy to use your help. Your kids schools or local nursing homes are always in need of people to help out.

WILL GIVING YOUR TIME MAKE YOU A HEALTHIER PERSON???? YOU BETTER BELIEVE FIT!!!!!!

Acts 20:35

³⁵ I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

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