motivation is never enough

Motivation & Action

 When it comes down to taking action towards what we want to accomplish through fitness, you have to be mindful of the start. Take the first step and keep on stepping.  Building the momentum to do so starts first in the mind and then expressed throughout. You have to know your WHY.

Yes, you must be clear about what the foundation is that you are setting your goals on. You must be convicted to your reason why in order to draw out the inner power to carry out the action necessary to go in the right direction. Once you are clear about your why, take time to evaluate your reason why. Ask yourself if your reason why is powerful enough for you to persist through the difficulty that lies ahead. Yes, it will be challenging. Any route you are taking that will lead to the expansion and growth will be challenging and you have to be willing and ready to conquer the challenges. Conquering the challenges with a victorious mindset and your mindset must be set for victory at all times. Even when you face temporary defeat, you must visualize the victory of accomplishing your goal, no if's ands or buts about it.

 When you are able to see that your reason why gets you moved to the point of excitement or even being a little nervous; get ready because that is your why.  That is your foundation, and the foundation is powerful enough to move you emotionally. 

guest post by fitness professional, Daniel Miller, of Rising Gr8ness. connect with him:

twitter: @risingGr8ness

Instagram: @risinggr8ness

website : claimgreatness.net

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VLOG: post-Christmas feels :(

who's enjoying vlogging? *raises hand*

seriously.  i do hope you'll continue to join me on this ride!  if you have ideas, topics, or questions, always feel free to shoot them to me. here's our post-Christmas day vlog:

to register for the Houston Commitment Day 5k click here.  if you're running, well let me know via social media or email (le@fitfoodiele.com)!

if you didn't catch our Christmas Eve vlog, here ya go! be sure to subscribe for more and leave me a thumbs up while you're there!

hope you had the BEST Christmas ever.

Weekend Treat = True Food Kitchen

i'll be shifting things around concerning my prenatal one-on-one sessions & class times as i have accepted a 10:15am saturday TCX class at my Lifetime location!!!! i am crazy excited about it because i have been holding down the butt-crack-of-dawn shift for a while now....but it is certainly nice to see more new faces, daylight, and teach in a prime time slot. i am so ready to GROW this class and rock out with the members on saturday mornings! yall know i loooove my saturday morning workouts.  so, *a-hem* for all those peeps that never quite made it to my 5:30am classes, now's your chance to give me a try ;)

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the child center was hosting a Reindeer Games event for the kiddies, so after class i walked my tykes right over to the party.  look who we ran into! i felt so bad for Mrs. Claus, ha. but i'm sure she has seen and experienced some crazy stuff dealing with young kiddos and all. Dego has not having it,

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so this is the only thing i could come up with to make him sit still. #whatevs

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i usually don't eat/drink much of anything besides coffee before teaching HIIT, so we had lunch at the Lifetime Cafe before heading out cause ya girl was hoongry.  i refueled with a mediterranean egg white wrap and roasted carrots. so filling!  kids get hunger attitudes just like we do (if not worse) so we all chowed down.  this is why i take breakfast so important now that Chiso is in school! he can't leave the house without it.

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later that evening i met up with my hubby, sis-in-love, and a few more friends and family to support my bro-in-love, Brian!  he cleaned UP and won 1st place NPC Physique Open AND NPC Physique Novice.  biiiig congrats to him; what a huge win for the 6 Pack USA team!

after church sunday, we finally headed to see the big tree at the Houston Galleria. Sonny doesn't fancy the word 'tradition' but this is one i'd like to keep going...forever!  we actually had family pictures scheduled but the rain killed our plans....again. this is our last week and chance to take them...ugh.  i have our outfits laid out and everything :( . wish us luck, ha!

"Chiso, do something cool!"

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"ok, watch me whip." #boom

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i can't even deal. 4? no way.

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the best out of 87.  enough of this. let's go eat.

for dinner, we went to a place recommended by a friend and client, Frances! True Food Kitchen did not disappoint.

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their menu is comprised of the anti-inflammatory food pyramid. my body definitely appreciated that! love this concept and cannot wait to try out...the rest of the menu.

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i started with their kale-aid.

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(how deliciously cute is that?)

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then, Sonny and i split their edamame dumplings per Frances' suggestion. they made us anticipate our entreès that much more.

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do you see those perfectly cooked shrimp?  *kisses finger tips* BELLISSIMO!!! the Panang Curry was THE STUFF. i usually don't do dairy-based/creamy sauces and/or soups but uuuuuh, the description sounded too good to resist.  i was impressed and elated to report that i did not even bloat afterwards! awesome. Sonny requested half chicken & half shrimp with his, so i told our waiter i wanted the exact same thang.

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pizza for the boys!  well, just one boy. Dego was knocked out the entire time, so i fed him at home.

after we went to Pink Berry, lol.  both of our phones were dead by that point, so no fro-yo pics, womp.

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my bowl looked a lil' somethin' like this though!  stole this pic from our maui 8th wedding anni trip.

Q:  fit friends! what else is good at True Food Kitchen!? i ran into a friend of mine (owner and CEO of Inner Me Studios, Nicole Phillips) while there and she ordered quinoa pancakes which were NOT on the lunch menu... so of course i looked at her plate like 'what are thoooooose????' bwhahahaha.  have you tried this place?

ok byeeeeee

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pump up your oatmeal volume (vid inside!) + Pink and Treat Halloween 5k

top of the morning!  i have thoroughly enjoyed letting moderation back into my diet since we returned from Maui last month but i'm still holding tight to 16-17% body fat.   i absolutely do not weigh myself daily and i don't plan on ever doing that again.  they say 'never say never' but that is definitely one thing i can say 'never' about.

i love it here and that's what matters.  let it GO, ladies.

once home, i made my usual 'expanding oatbran' and i took my periscope viewers along for the ride this time! check out the vid i was able to shoot interruption-free since my boys were still snoring away once i arrived.  adding volume to your food keeps you full longer between meals and ya get to eat MORE for relatively the same nutritional stats, hello! love sharing little tips like these and i hope my oatmeal loving peeps appreciate this one too.

Chiso still may hate veggies...but that boy LOVES oatmeal. he specifically requested oatmeal with raisins this morning for breakfast before school. made me smile seriously big as i made it for him. sometimes we eat out of real bowls... sometimes most of the time  we do tupperware.  bikini prep life changed me apparently, haha.

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then we got silly! this week is Red Ribbon Week  at preschool so every day the students get to wear something fun and non-traditional.  Chiso couldn't wait to wear his workout gear today and he is ecstatic about wearing jammies (pajamas) on thursday!  we got a quick workout in after breakfast since he was already dressed for the part.  somebody tell me WHY Dego has more muscles than Chiso and i combined though!?

we are doing all this work but all he does is sleep, eat, & poop. hmph.

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k, last thang!

i'm runnin' in the Susan G. Koman Pink and Treat 5k this coming saturday, yall!!

 i am also raising funds for breast cancer research and awareness and i'm on a mission to reach my goal.   i would love your support in helping me get there; any and everything is APPRECIATED!!! i want to give a special shout out to my friends and family who have already donated and definitely those who still plan to do so!  we have just 4 days left til' race day. again, i am forever grateful for your support and thank you in advance.

to donate or even register yourself for the race (please run so we can meet up!) is riiiight here. the price is still currently 25 bucks but it shoots up to 40 on race day so get up on that!

peaaaaace!

Q: do you 'celebrate' Halloween? why or why not?

Day 1...DONE #FFLCleanEatingChallenge

my grandma had 12 kiddos (6 boys, 6 girls) and there was even a set of twins up in there!  they turned 50 this past weekend and we celebrated with an old-fashioned house partaaaaaay!

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my contribution?  some unpictured vegan chicken taquitos (i bought them from Whole Foods Market) and some homemade guacamole.

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my uncle and his fam are vegan so we wanted to make sure there was food there they could enjoy.

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vegan cupcakes from sprinkles made an appearance too! do they even look 50 years old!? happy birthday to the twins, Uncle Anthony and Aunt Annette :)

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we partied til midnight but had to go pick up the boys afterwards and got home at 1-ish. needless to say, i was NOT ready to get up and drive across town for instructor training the next day.  but first..... COFFEE.

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it was worth it though cause i got to see my girl and master Lifetime Fitness trainer Abrea again! i've been seeing her at least once a year for various trainings for the past couple years and i never get tired of listening to this woman (she's the one with the cool hair on the left).  i also saw my instructor friend and rock star Olga (yellow tank) and NEW instructor Maria(top)!! Maria has taken my early LT classes for a good while. i'm excited she'll be able to sub for me if i never need one lol. congrats to her on teaching her first class recently!  

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Abrea taught a fan-flippin-tastic Barbell Strength class and we all loved every sweaty second of it.  i love working out with other instructors cause the energy in the room is INSANE!! so fun, so educational, and so needed to keep my own BBS class exciting and refresh my love for being an instructor period. see ya next year, Abrea! 

this is what i snacked on throughout the day: fresh fruit, veggies, hummus with a few pita chips, BBQ chicken breast chunks, oatmeal, eggs, and water.  i slept as long as i could so i didn't have time to make my breakfast at home.  thank you, LifeCafe!

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after i got home, meal prep time!!!!! have you checked out the hashtag on IG?! --->#FFLCleanEatingChallenge<---  i jumped online and saw everyone else prepping too and got SO inspired all over again!!! yall are DOIN' IT!!! i gave 3 options for protein and made two of'em: Apple Turkey Burgers and the Sticky Spicy Chicken.

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then i put my meals together for the next 3 days.  preparation is EVERYTHING.

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meanwhile.....man i missed these guys.  and i missed church that day too!  luckily our church adds their sermons online so i still caught it. the next morning i was tired as crap, yall. not even gonna sugar coat it.  sunday is usually my rest day so i was beat after that long day of training.  i wanted to hop on Periscope super early and motivate yall for this challenge somethin' serious but my body couldn't and wouldn't get out the bed! so i slept in way later than normal and did not feel bad about it. i made breakfast immediately once up though and got going!  Chiso wanted in on the challenge too lol so he had what i was having.

ok, i know it's only been ONE day but i am CRAAAAZY proud of yall!!!! seriously!!!! it's one thing to talk about changing... but when you put forth the effort to actually MAKE IT HAPPEN you are well on your way! i told yall i'd be watching via social media and i am ON IT. way to go yall! KEEP IT UP!

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meal prep sunday went DOWN.

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and now monday has been officially ROCKED!!! if you have not followed me on Periscope yet, what is up with that!? i thought of an idea on the elliptical today i'm gonna introduce very soon and it includes exercise via Periscope. i'll discuss super soon, so hurry up and join!  man, these pictures make me smile incredibly big. yall have no idea!  if you take and post at least one pic per day concerning this #fflcleaneatingchallenge i have a lil' somethin' for ya... so STICK WITH IT!

what was the toughest part of day 1 for you?  (if you're taking the challenge)

when are you most tempted to eat junk? (open for everybody)

le