Good Morning Beautiful

Growing up

Do you know people who rely on other people to live? They still rely on their parents for car insurance, health insurance, phone bills... They still rely on their parents to pay their rent or fix their appliances? They rely on their current boyfriend, physically and emotionally? Can't live without a man in their life, can't be alone?

I think the hardest part of growing up is learning how to embrace the fear of being independent. Accepting that your life has become a map of only your decisions, your choices, your mistakes... and it's up to you to pick up the pieces when things go wrong.

You NEED to have the confidence or strength to be alone and believe in yourself. Instead of trusting someone else to make you happy, trust in yourself to be okay when things go wrong. Trust yourself enough to handle anything that comes your way.

If you do, that fear will dissolve away. You can be happy with only yourself, no matter what.

If you don't, that fear will build and build and build... you will blame other people and become the victim of "having the worst luck" or  believe that "no one cares". You will be alone with someone that you hate and don't trust (yourself).

THIS IS YOUR LIFE... TAKE CHARGE... EMBRACE your life, embrace the fact that YOU get to make all of the decisions... become someone that you rely on to get you through.

Figure out who you are, who you want to become, and then become the best version of yourself.

THAT is when you will find someone to share your independence with you, not for you to depend on.

Sleep anxiety

Does anyone else get sleep anxiety? I do! Especially when I have 250000 things going on!

I found the best, most natural, fix.

Besides heathy eating, working out, sleep, personal development ... Of course

Nighty night tea + 1 melatonin!

 

Bucket List

 Bucket List --> Turned into a dream list

Trust me, I have a bucket list. I think they are great! But my bucket list mostly consists of things I want to do for vacation, eat on vacation, and experience before I die. What about now while you are young? Where do you want to get in LIFE?

What are your dreams?!

Now when you make the board, make dreams big enough to where writing them down makes your stomach hurt. My stomach still twists when I read this one... some of these seem IMPOSSIBLE! But, why not do them anyway?

 My dream board:

Freedom to live close to my family no matter how far. I was born in Canada, my family lives in the Cayman Islands, and I am in school in Mississippi. Not to mention, my best friend and little sister, lives in HONDURAS. It KILLS me to live so far from her and the rest of my family, knowing that I can't afford to go see them whenever I want to. It would be amazing to just have the freedom to live with, near, or fly to them whenever I want... once a month... anything! Maybe have a few beach houses ;)

Goal body weight. I put a deadline on it... I feel like not being at my goal body weight holds me back. Holds me back from living and working on all my other dreams. I don't want that to happen anymore. I never want to look back on life and think, "If only I was more confident in my body I would have done that." December 2014 baby! Stay tuned!

First motivational speech. This one scares the crap out of me. Ever since my friend committed suicide, I've wanted to give back. I figured out what I wanted to do last spring and I CHICKENED OUT. I want to motivate our second year veterinary students to stay strong when their school semesters are the hardest by going to talk to them. The thing is, then I will have to be vulnerable in front of 85, type A, smart, judgmental students. Phew.

Find love. I almost erased this one off my board before I posted it... it scares me that MUCH! But I'm finally ready to find love again since my ex-boyfriend, and I will!

Debt free December 2016. Wow. Now, we aren't just talking a couple thousand dollars worth of credit card debt... We are talking hundreds of thousands of dollars in student loans. Specifically $250,000 with 3% interest. I want it GONE by December 2016. This means I have from August 2015 - December 2016 to work my butt off and be successful! Here goes nothing!

Europe 2015. This has been a dream for years. I want to go to Europe with my little sister after I graduate from vet school. While we are both young, single, and free.

The big diamond in the right hand corner are my beachbody dreams. I want to keep being a coach and helping people when I can. GIVING back = happiness... seriously, it works.

 

Meal planning again!

Meal Prepping - SO IMPORTANT

If you fail to plan, you plan to FAIL - also so true

I am back on track with my prepping

Plan: 

Breakfast - shakeology

Snack 1 - fruit

Lunch - chicken, sweet potatos, quinoa

Snack 2 - nuts

Dinner - fish or chicken and veggies

Snack 3 - yogurt

Recipes:

These are so easy!

Veggies: chopped broccoli and sweet peppers mixed with Pam, garlic, cumin, pepper, fat free italian dressing, baked at 400 degrees

Chicken: Seasoned with Pam, chicken seasoning, fresh herbs (rosemary), bake at 350 degrees

Sweet potatos: Chopped to equal size pieces, seasoned with Pam and pepper

Quinoa: Directions on box exactly 

<3

Life like a Camera

Always take another shot! Go out on another date, call another client, do another workout, take another trip... Never stop even if it doesn't work out 100 times :)

Hope you all had a great weekend. <3

Las Vegas Beachbody Summit

 Hey everyone! Sorry for my lack of posting over the last month. I have been TRAVELLING with limited internet! Poor excuse, but it's TRUE.

Let me tell you about my adventures!

First I went to home to the Cayman Islands to do externships (work at veterinary clinics) for veterinary school. Then I went to Las Vegas for Summit.

What is Summit you ask? It was beach body's national conference, which meant >9,000 beachbody coaches in one hotel in Las Vegas. It was CRAZY!

First I met all the coaches that I work with and have grown to love OVER THE INTERNET. I thought this was crazy. People are SO different that I expected them to be! It amazed me that we could have such close relationships with people only through facebook. WEIRD.

Then, all of the TOP of the TOP coaches got on stage and told us their transformation stories. How they started as alcoholic, broke, consecutive DUIs, thousands of dollars in debt, sick newborns, sicknesses, depression, anxiety, sudden death of family members...

To happy, wealthy, independent, sober, fit, beautiful, and healthy.... it was so inspiring to see and be a part of.

I was SO excited and inspired that I had to take a happy selfie:

NEVER GIVE UP was the theme of the weekend.

They introduced three new programs! PiYO, 3 day REFRESH, and an intro level P90x.

YES, I even worked out while I was there! Sean T all the way!

Out in the Las Vegas lights:

Darren Hardy! This is the man who wrote The Compound Effect. His talk was so amazing and inspiring. He was very handsome too... I found a new crush.

Then we worked out in a parking lot with 9,000 people! All of the celebrity fitness people, Sean T, Tony Horton, Autum from the 21 day fix, and the girl from the PiYO! It was pretty crowded, but cool at the same time.

It was an amazing trip! I met so many beautiful and genuinely happy people that I will have as friends forever. I also have so many new ideas and projects to do! Stay tuned for my upcoming fitness groups!

~No Dream Is Too Big~

Contagious Happiness

I know everyone has self-doubt, believe you me, I do all the time. But then I say:

"SCREW OFF mind, this is a waste of time, think of something else... something good, positive, and happy."

Don't ever forget that we are our worst critic. 

My quest to happiness has been going for exactly 6 months now. I can't believe the difference I see in myself. 

Here is a WOW moment/great example that happened to me this week:

Through vet school we are doing "externships". We spend only 10 days with a veterinary clinic and try to learn as much as possible about veterinary medicine and practice. They only have 10 days to get to know us as a person, professional, and future veterinarian before they have to grade us. 10 days... that's NOTHING.

While on externships, you are all on your own. You have branched off from your 80 classmates that you usually share all of the attention and learning with... talk about AWESOME. Wayyyyy out of your comfort zone.

I just finished an externship this week, and when it came time for the veterinarian to grade me.. he said, verbatim,   "You know, you are just so happy... and you being happy, makes me happy."

I can't explain how happy I was to hear that! He had no idea what he was saying.

~Never ever stop trying. Never ever stop dreaming.~

Log day 4

Log-because-I-missed-a-few-days-and-I-do-so-much-better-when-LOGGING!

4 days till VEGAS!!!

IN MY MOUTH:
Tea with lemon
Vegan banana bread

WATER: 20oz

EXERCISE:

Log Day 3

Log-because-yesterday-I-didn't-do-as-good-as-I-coulda----typical :)

IN MY MOUTH

Coffee

Apple

Granola bar

Veggie salad with low fat balsamic dressing

Bean Soup

Baked Chicken wings

Ceaser Salad

WATER: 58oz

EXERCISE

Swimming free style (30 minutes)

Upper fix (21 day fix)

Lower fix (21 day fix)

Log Day 2

LOG-to-stop-pretending-you-are-allowed-to-cheat-193948887500-times-a-day:

IN MY MOUTH:
Coffee
Coffee
Salad with a little fish and a little chicken with low fat dressing
Steamed Fish
Grilled Veggies
Brownie

WATER: 58oz

EXERCISE:
Agility X (P90x3)

Log Day 1

I'm going to try this "Logging = success" thing I read in The Compound Effect....

LOG-to-stop-cheating-and-shoving-things-in-my-mouth-before-vegas Day 1

IN MY MOUTH

Coffee 

Shakeology

Apple

Veggie Salad (12oz) with light italian dressing

Coffee
Veggie pizza
Wine

Water Count: 110oz

EXERCISE
30 min video: Total cardio fix (21 day fix)
30 min video: Total Synergistic (P90x3)
Bike 20 min
Stair master 5 min (EXHAUSTING)

Not a Dog

CHALLENGE

I CANNOT believe I go to vegas in 13 days!! Time to tighten up!!

Do you guys believe in logging your foods/exercise if you want to lose weight? Or logging every penny you spend if you want to save money? Or logging every minute you waste on silly things if you want to save time?

I do. It works, but you have to make your mind LOG all the information!

Over the next 13 days I will be logging my information on this blog, DO IT WITH ME!

I will be writing everything I shoved into my mouth, my exercise done for the day, 3 things I'm happy/thankful for, and a positive experience I had that day. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

Comfort zone

GO TO BED - Night Time Depression

Depression is a funny thing. It's not funny... but it's so complex. It comes in many different forms, at many different times, and for many different reasons. There are also so many forms of it that sometimes you don't even know what's happening.

Let's talk about the night-time depression. Now, I'm no doctor, but I think sometimes experience can make you more knowledgeable about things than degrees... and BOY do I experience night-time depression. I also made up that name.

So let's say you're doing great on your own - whether you are single, newly broken up, fighting with a spouse, or in a long distance relationship...

You're doing great during the day, feeling confident, making healthy choices, loving the independent feeling, loving spending time with yourself...

And then, BOOM.

Sometimes, NO MATTER WHAT, once a certain time at night comes, you start to feel sad, lonely, and needy. This happens to me all the time. Somehow at night, the chemicals change in my brain, and I feel depressed laying in bed alone or watching tv on the couch alone. The major problem with this night-time epression, is that then I binge eat or call an ex-boyfriend, or make a dumb decision, because the lonely part of my brain took over the strong, independent, self confident person that was there earlier in the day.

TIME. TO. STOP. this cycle. And I've figured out how. GO TO BED.

What I've learned is that as soon as your brain's chemicals start going hay-wire and changing how you feel, it's because it's TIRED. It's a sign of exhaustion. SO instead of making bad decisions, GOOOOOOOO TOOOOOO BEDDDDDDDD. 

Sleep solves all. You'll feel great when you wake up. Everytime, no fai. So when you feel in doubt - say wait, I just need to go to bed.

I promise, I feel 1000,00000,0000 times better <3

You're Awesome

Happiness Challenge 3

Are you in a relationship that you want to improve? Or are you looking for your perfect soul mate?

I need you to write down all of the attributes that you desire in your perfect woman/man. Describe their personality, character, key attributes, attitudes, and philosophies about life...

My list would start like this: (in no particular order)

- Entrepreneur
- Love fitness
- Sexy body
- Kind
- Smart
- Compassionate about animals/nature
- Compassionate about their job/career
- Active
- Wants to travel
- Knows how to unconditional love
- Confident
- Has nice hair
- Mature
- Independent financially and emotionally
- Similar interests
- Great in bed ;)
- Stable family, or has worked out their issues
- Knows what they want
- Believes happiness is the most important
- Successful
- Knows who they are
- Has been in a relationship before and can say why it didn't work out
..... and so on :)

You now need to consider whether you have those same attributes yourself. Take a good look at yourself. Do you have the qualities you are expecting someone else to have? Am I confident, sexy, compassionate, kind, an entrepreneur, independent? Not quite. So what makes me think I'm going to attract that kind of mate?

Take 100% responsibility. What DO I need to improve myself to attract this type of person? I need to help myself change into the person I want to attract.

So beside all of those attributes written on your piece of paper, I want you to explain how you are going to improve yourself to become this type of person. Then, and only then, will you be able to find that person and attract them!

Habit from The Compound Effect:

Habit from The Compound Effect:

"Psychology says that 95% of the things we feel, think, do, and achieve everyday is the result of a learned habit."

"If you took a bite of a Big Mac and immediately fell to the ground clutching your chest from a heart attack, you might not go back for that second bite. If your next puff of a cigarette instantly mutated your face into that of a weathered eighty-five-year-old, chances are you’d pass on that too. I you failed to make that tenth call today and were immediately fired and bankrupt, suddenly picking up the phone would be a no-brainer. And, if that first forkful of cake instantly put fifty pounds on your frame, saying “no thank you” to dessert would be the true piece of cake.

The problem is the pay off or instant gratification derived from bad habits often far outweighs what’s going on in your rational mind concerning long-term consequences. Indulging in our bad habits doesn’t seem to have any negative effects at all in the moment. You don’t have that heart attack, your face doesn’t shrivel up, you’re not standing in the unemployment line, and your thighs aren’t thunderous. But that doesn’t mean you haven’t activated the compound effect.

It’s time to wake up and realize that the habits you indulge in could be compounding your life into repeated disaster. The slightest adjustments to your daily routine can dramatically alter the outcomes of your life. Super small, seemingly uncosequential adjustments can and will revolutionize everything."

Coffee Calories

When you are watching your diet, eating healthy, losing weight, and practicing a healthy lifestyle... are there 1 or 2 things that the internet says that you should or shouldn't do that you are like 

"Nope, no way, never going to happen"

or 

"This borders on the line of unhappiness if I don't eat/drink this"?

Well for me it's coffee/tea. Being in veterinary school, I CANNOT live without coffee. Well, never say never. I could physically live without coffee, but I don't want to and it really helps me through my early mornings and long days.

HOW TO DRINK COFFEE WITHOUT THE ADDED CALORIES? Well, it's simple, drink it black. "YUCK" is most people's response (including mine), so let me share how I transferred myself to black coffee.

First of all, I calculated an added between 120 - 1,600 calories per day on coffee, depending on the kind of coffee you drink. If you go for the iced frappacinos, you're looking at adding up to 2,000 calories per day on coffee. If you drink plain coffee but add cream and sugar to it, your looking at an added 150-300 calories per day if you have a few cups. THIS can RUIN your healthy nutrition plan and stop you from getting the results you want.

The key is to the transformation slowly. How I did it:

1. Decrease the sugar 

2. Take out the sugar and only drink with creamer

3. Change from creamer to milk (this is a huge change! this takes time!)

4. Change from whole or 2% milk to skim milk (or lite soy or almond milk)

5. One day, just dive into only black coffee

I feel so much healthier after drinking black coffee compared to drinking coffee with cream and sugar. It's amazing the difference and allowed me to continue to get the caffeine I need! Hopefully when my schedule lightens I can transfer to tea.

Now, don't torture yourself on horrible black coffee. Take the money you used to spend on milk, creamer, and sugar and spend it on good quality coffee. Also, flavored coffee helps me not notice the missing creamer.

If you're still having trouble, pay attension to how you're making your coffee. Is it too strong? What kind of machine are you using? Kerig coffee and instant coffee is horrible tasting, I do not recommend starting with those.

Good luck on the transformation. Let me know how if I helped!

You can even mix it with your shakeology!

From The Inside

Exercise vs Diet

SEXY summer

I am the furthest person from perfect out there. I usually mess up my diet and workout plan DAILY. So if I can see results by doing these work out challenge groups less than perfectly, anyone can. You don't have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great, remember?

It's GO time! 5 weeks until I'm going to Las Vegas and rooming with sexy beach body coaches! I can't wait, but this is push time for my workouts and healthy nutrition!

I have 3 spots left in my Sexy Summer work out group! If you're interested in joining me this summer, fill this out. https://joycefollows.wufoo.com/forms/challenge-group-application/

Mirror Challenge

Happy Friday! CHALLENGE ALERT

I want ya'll to say OUT LOUD what you say in your head (to yourself) when you look in the mirror. I know when I get undressed in the morning or when I get out of the shower I look at my body. I used to say things like, "Ugh your so gross and fat" or worse. Now, since I've practiced, I say things like "Not to shabby Joyce, you're working on it". Do you see the difference?

Don't think that if you have this conversation in your head you are completing this challenge. Say it OUT LOUD. It took me like 10 minutes to actually admit out loud what I was saying in my head to myself. Reality check. If you wouldn't say it to someone else, don't say it to yourself. Stop punishing yourself. Motivate yourself by what you say to the mirror.

You may think this is corny or dumb... but it's been a HUGE game changer for me. How can you be self-confident if you are knocking yourself down everytime you look in the mirror? Time to stop.

Tid-bit from the Compound Effect

Successful people are just willing to do the things unsuccessful people are not.

Success and happiness is does not come from a fortune cookie, a wish on a star, or a lottery ticket. Our media only posts the few easy success stories in the middle of thousands of failures. It clouds our view on working hard.

Get your butt up and fight for what you want!!

Dolphins

As you all know, I'm in veterinary school and I started my LAST year this week! Can you believe it!

I'm so happy to be doing my first externship (training outside of the university) at the Institute for Marine Mammal studies on the Mississippi coast.

I already did surgeries on turtles, responded to a stranding on the beach, and met my neighbors, the dolphins below.

Have you ever seen a dolphin? They have an anatomical smile, a permanent happy face. It makes me so happy every time I see them and I automatically I smile. I was wondering what it would be like if humans were made to have a permanent smile on their face... would it really be that bad?

I think the world would be alot more beautiful!

Smile! :)

Meal Planning on the GO!

I'm traveling! And I refuse to let it ruin my diet and exercise routine!

This is my fridge at the externship I'm at! All meals are cooked!

Fruit, shakeology, yogurt, chicken, veggies, quinoa & hot sauce!!!

 

I have never stuck with a nutrition plan or exercise routine while traveling. This is a new world for me. I love seeing small changes and a new LIFESTYLE.

#lifestylechange

Burn Your Fears

CHALLENGE ALERT

What is your BIGGEST fear? It can be about fitness or anything in life. It can be one fear or 10.

Write it on a piece of paper.

Draw a circle around it.

And then post a picture.

Stay tuned to see what to do next!

NOW - BURN IT. And take an after picture.

You need to tell yourself, out loud, that you can handle whatever come your way and you will work your hardest to reach your dreams and goals. All you can do it YOUR best. Even those things that you wrote down. That gives you control and the fear will drop away. It's an amazing feeling.

Bathing Suit Season

Have you ever felt that horrible awkward uncomfortable bathing suit feeling?

Have you avoided cameras at the beach or the pool?

Have you indulged in too much alcohol so that you don't feel self conscious in your bathing suit?

Or missed out on a beach/pool event?

I have done all of the above. But this summer will be different. I'm going to work hard and I'm going to PUSH during May and June to be the best that I can be... So that I can feel confident and comfortable with my friends this summer.

Do it with me :)

All you need to do is fill this out. https://joycefollows.wufoo.com/forms/challenge-group-application/