Thursday, September 13, 2012

Change

I'm going to come out of the closet, so to speak :) I have my story on my coaching page (beachbodycoach.com/mindyjrose)...but I have felt the need to write it down here for quite some time. It makes me uncomfortable, the first time I have vocally talked about it in front of people was at my Shake and Share last week. But Chris and I have made the decision to open up our lives and dedicate the rest of our lives to helping people change theirs.
 
I have struggled with bulimia for 12 years. The only time I really stopped was during my pregnancies. I get horribly sick with them, and I tried really hard to get some nourishment to my babies. It's something that in my mind, I came to the conclusion that I will struggle with it my whole life. That I had messed up, and it's impossible to overcome. I had tried so many times to stop, but I just couldn't. But in the past year, and especially since finding Beachbody, I know it's part of my past now, and I am the one who controls my future. I pray that my story can get out there and keep even just one person from struggling with this. The thoughts/addiction that come from it are beyond hard to overcome. There is nothing about it that's worth it.  I've been controlled by negative thoughts/depression/eating disorder for the majority of my past. I wish I could say I take back the day I started..because the addiction it turns into is as strong as any drug. It has changed so much about me and turned me into someone that I know isn't me. But I can't regret it, because the places I have been to emotionally and physically, have molded me into who I'm trying to become.
 
I feel this power inside that is trying to come out. I know that I have potential to become the person I was sent down here to be. Do I still doubt that I can sometimes? Yes, but unlike my past..I am kicking that out and tearing down the walls that have confined me for too long. I have a divine nature, I have confidence that I can do hard things, I can be confident in who I am and what I'm capable of doing. We have dreams that we are going to achieve. Not maybe, Not someday..we WILL achieve them. There is no reason in the world, that we can't become all that we were meant to become. I am so tired of being self conscious, and being scared to do anything in front of people. I'm tired of trying on 10 outfits and wearing baggy clothes. I'm tired of using excuses for never going anywhere or doing more than what's asked of me. I'm tired of being so quiet around people, and being scared to meet new people. I'm tired of not being the person I know I can be. I'm tired of the life I've lived for so long, because it wasn't me. We are the ones who hold ourselves back. We are the only ones who can change our thoughts. And when we change our thoughts, it changes our actions, and we can change our lives.
 
I am learning to be grateful for my past, as much as I may wish I knew then what I know now. I am able to have empathy for those who have been to those places. I can relate, I can pass on what I've learned and am learning each day. I've had to rely on my Savior and the Atonement in ways that I may never have if I hadn't gone down that road. My struggle is something I will continue to fight against each day, as I feel the pressure of the adversary trying to keep me still. I have felt this so strongly the past few weeks. Chris and I are fighting obstacles left and right to keep us still and quiet. Satan doesn't want us to improve and become better. Something like Beachbody, that may seem so little..changes more than just your physical body. It's an all around transformation when given 100%. So when you improve your health, it improves who you are inside..and any improvement gets in the way of Satan's plan.
 
I still have to fight off thoughts each day, but I have learned the past year that the only foods to fear are the unhealthy ones...and not just because they turn into fat, it's because they don't give your body any nutrients whatsoever. So having a kitchen that is full of clean healthy foods has set me up for success. I can eat a plate full of food, and for the first time in my life, I'm not scared. In fact, I know that plate is going to help me lose weight and give me energy. This is a journey for us, but I am getting more comfortable in my skin and it's so exciting to see what our bodies are capable of and becoming.

Life can be hard..that's inevitable. But what we do with the challenges is up to us. We don't have to let them keep us down and just make it day to day. We are so much stronger than we know. We can handle hard things..Heavenly Father sent us down with everything we need to overcome trials. We can have a GREAT life. You have to WANT it bad enough to work for it. I am at a point now, where I refuse to go back to the life I was living. That's not who I was meant to be, and I know there's bigger things in store. I want to be more..and I want more for my family and my children and I want to make a different in other's lives.
 
 
 


Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Love

These faces are my favorite!!! I could stare at these smiles all day :)





 Don't mind the creepy eyes in this last one. We were playing red rover:) their new favorite game.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

What's new with us...


Chris and I have started a new journey together..and needless to say, after getting married and having kids, it's been the best decision we've made. It has changed each of us in ways that nothing else could have fulfilled. I've written about this before, but we started eating clean about 5 months ago. We were also running and we both started shedding the weight and feeling so much better after cutting out processed foods, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, etc. After learning even more about vitamins and whole natural foods, and superfoods we were lead to Shakeology(shakeology.com/mindyjrose) which is sold by Beachbody(beachbodycoach.com/mindyjrose). We were also lead to our coach who I found on facebook. It's funny looking back at how things happened, because I know they happened the way they did for a reason and when the time was right. I had been turned off to beachbody for a few different reasons..some being I thought it was a bunch of people obsessed with their bodies and I was tired of them being flaunted on fb. I believe in priorities and having balance, and I thought how on earth are these people spending time on what truly matters? But that was just a few people I was seeing..I hadn't met my coach yet, and hadn't researched Shakeology yet. My coach has a perfect history of what Chris and I have gone through, and we were attracted to her WHY of how beachbody changed her life. She took the time to get to know us and answer all my questions for a month, and then we knew this was something we had to have.

Beachbody sells programs like p90x, Insanity, Brazil Butt Lift, Turbofire and many more. These are 60-90 day programs, that when given 100% of your effort and you follow the program they lay out, will get you in the best shape of your life in 90 days. I've had people tell me they did it, and didn't lose much weight. Well, what were you eating during that time? Did you do the workouts everyday, or just some here and there? Like anything in life, you get out of it, what you put in. I've always had an obsession with buying workout programs, and a habit of never finishing them. The reason Beachbody works is they give you a support system to help motivate you and keep you from quitting. They give you meal/nutrition plans online that you customize for your goals..so you can learn about what to eat. Their programs are quick and effective. We're 17 days into Insanity, and it's by far the hardest workout we've ever done. After Insanity is over we're going to do p90x to build muscle and tone up. I am pushing past a point in my body I've never done before. It's amazing how much farther your body can go then you ever thought! It's always our minds that give up before our bodies do.

But the main thing for us was the Nutrition Shakeology provides. There's nothing else like it out there. We tried to find something else, and nothing else comes close to having that many superfoods in it in their pure form. It helps with mental health(depression, ADD, anxiety, etc), and has taken my coach off her antidepressants and Chris is currently weaning himself off his while taking Shakeology and vitamins. It has helped me with mental clarity, boost in attitude..I'm more upbeat, patient, and my energy has increased. It strengthens your immune system, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, strengthens your digestive system, and so much more. The list goes on and on.

So for us, taking control of our physical health has automatically helped with our mental health and emotional health. It's all connected. When you're physically fit and healthy, you just start to feel better all around. There's no price to the confidence, self-esteem, happiness that comes from being all around healthy. We are the happiest we've ever been. And having this change in our lives has made us aware of plans our Heavenly Father has for us. We know that the things we've gone through and struggled with were not just so that we were miserable for years and years. It was for us to learn and find out who we are and then help others. This is what beachbody has done for us. It provided a way for us to take care of ourselves and continue to for the rest of our lives, and help others do the same. I know this is what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm learning, and I'm not a health expert..but I will continue to learn and try to inspire and motivate others to take the leap and learn how to take care of themselves as well. Putting ourselves out there with our stories has been scary and a little uncomfortable. But we each have a story, and someone else out there will always have a similar story to connect with and relate to. This has changed so much for us, we are starting to believe in ourselves, and know that we can have dreams and chase them. That life isn't meant to be lived in our comfort zones. That this is our one chance to find and reach our full potentials and help others do the same.
 
 
 
Top picture is us in 2009
 

bottom one is us a few weeks ago. This is our progression picture. Another one will be posted after Insanity is over :)
 
me in 2009, me now..work in progress! 


my coach picture..for the first time in a looong time, like back to elementary school..I can say I'm starting to feel comfortable in my own skin. ...and my story can be found here: http://www.teambeachbody.com/mindyjrose - you have to click "more" to read the full bio. Then on the right I have a couple blog posts. 

House update

We made an offer on this in April. The first loan got approved in July..and the second just got approved on Friday. We'll be closing in 30 days and finally be first time home owners! We are so excited. We'll actually be moving on the 22nd though, because our landlords need to get a new renter in on Oct 1st.

It doesn't feel real yet, and it's bittersweet to leave our ward. But we know without a doubt this is the right house for our family. The neighbors and ward for our new house have already been so welcoming and the schools and area are awesome. We're only 4 miles away from where we're at now, so it will be easy to keep in touch with our close friends. We can't wait..now it's just about packing, picking paint colors and getting ready to take care of our OWN house!

Random

superman and superwoman
 Addy has been talking about Halloween a lot, so I gave in and let them dress me up..as a Doctor with Mason's shorts on my head.

 BEST BEST BEST FRIENDS
 Showing Daddy their crafts/pages from Nursery and Sunbreams
 Doesn't get any better than this ....
 well..maybe according to Kinley, it gets better with cake :)
 Addy is in a preschool class 2 days a week for 2 hours, and gets to go with her best friends, Karlee and Irelynn. She absolutely loves it and wishes she could go all day, everyday :)




Las Vegas 51's

We lucked out a few weeks ago, and got free front row, VIP tickets to the last home game of the season for the Las Vegas 51's. Chris's boss has season tickets and wasn't going to this game, so we gladly took them, got a sitter and hurried out of the house when Chris got home from work:) It was so fun to get out and go do something fun together.









Sunday, September 2, 2012

September is here!!

I'm so excited it's September!
1: Addison is starting preschool this week and will go on Tues/Thurs for 2 hours in the afternoon. She gets to go with a couple of her best friends, so it will be a blast. She is also starting Gymnastics this year instead of dance. She's been such a little monkey around the house and loved watching Gabby at the Olympics, so she was pretty set on doing gymnastics instead this year.

2: FALL WEATHER! It's already started cooling off a little in the evenings, and I can't wait for the  temps to steadily drop and live at the park again until next summer :)

3: WE GET TO MOVE! Our close date isn't official, but since our owner wants to get our house we're in now rented by Oct 1st..we're kinda getting the boot. The sellers of the house we're buying, are okay with letting us move in and rent it until it closes. Since their agent wanted to close by Sept 30th, we're hoping things time out pretty close anyway and we only have to pay rent for a couple weeks. Or it could just close in 3 weeks like planned :):) We are beyond excited. Everything about this move is perfect, except for saying goodbye to our ward. But we're only 4.5 miles away, so we're not far. We're busy packing, and picking out paint colors for the house, and just loving life right now!