Love Me a FRIDAY

This week held a few a la "new" for us....
Other than little man turning 2, having to cut out his first dread lock, (oops) and realizing this weekend will hold his first haircut, there were other spotlights of the week that even in their small ways were "new" to us. New can be scary. It kinda means change. And while I wholeheartledy believe change is good for the soul, change can either come with feelings of excitement or anxiety. And sometimes both!!!

1// new trails. gotta push myself and explore to be sure I don't get bored with my routine.
those hills were definitely daunting and challenged my bum in a summer time goooood way!

2// Lance had his first track meets this year! He's working hard at juggling this new schedule of practice, homework and 2 meets a week. Kids do have it hard! So needless to say when he wasn't able to run at his first meet, he was bummed. So bummed he thought about quitting. Uh, we don't quit. And good thing because he raced 3 times at his 2nd meet! He felt nerves like never before at the races this week :)

3// lunch with dad. this is totally new for lil' Landon. It's been 3 weeks of working less, woohoo! Landon recognizes anything camo as "dada" and that camo stays gone for long hours some days. It's awesome to skip up there for lunch on days we know Lucas won't see Landon any other way.

4// alright so I've been waiting on this book since signing up for the AFAA certification last week. It's finally come and oh meeee gosh, it's huge! Who knew there was so much learn?! My class is next weekend :) uh, yea just a tad nervous!!!

5// GREEN SMOOTHIE TIME! Been blending different fruits and greens into smoothies. This is definitely new for me and I must say I'm digging it! Monday is the kickoff for all of us that have signed up for the Green Smoothie Challenge. If you want a button, grab it from the sidebar and rock it proud. If you missed out on the announcement check this post. Sign up is super easy and will help us - help you through next week! Let's pack on the nutrients and try something new together :)

Speaking of trying new things....

Meet Bonnie!
He's got a story to tell but there are a few details he's too humble to admit and those you must know. The man is incredibly sweet, genuine and dedicated. He's motivated and encouraging. When a project comes to hand he follows it through to the end. He has the tools to get you from point A to point B. He'll take away some of your fears when considering "new" things and assure you through your entire route to success.

So here I am, an over weight bald guy, writing a guest post for a blog that features fitness. Yeah...
so yes, I do feel a bit out of place. But I’m also a guy named Bonnie and I work in the skin care industry, which feels like it's 99% women, moms... beautiful moms at that. And for most of my life, I have worked in the library industry in sales & marketing. Yep, I live my life “out of place”.

My blog Beach Money CEO focuses on one thing that I do know well, and that’s working from home, helping entrepreneurs, mompreneurs and bloggers succeed in their businesses and of course, selling some spectacular skin care. A while back I wrote a post called A Healthy Work From Home Regimen that touched on some of my healthy habits. I’ll share a little of my story with you. Though the picture may not indicate it, I do work out regularly. And I do eat somewhat healthy most of the time.

Living healthy is a lifestyle and a series of good choices that turn into habits. If I can do anything at all to encourage you to begin making healthy choices, right food and exercise choices, as soon as possible, I will have done well. Because honestly, once your health gets out of hand, it’s so incredibly difficult to get it back under control. A healthy lifestyle is a habit that is made one choice at a time.

Back in June of last year, I decided it was time to make a change. As I sat on the couch watching The Biggest Loser on Netflix...while eating some yummy “Everything but the...” ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s, I decided it was time to make a change. And when I set my mind to something, I don’t hold back - I’m all in! 

So this Nashville guy loaded up the SUV and headed to Atlanta for a casting call for the Biggest Loser.
I didn't want to become a reality TV star, I just wanted to go all in and get as much help and accountability as possible. As I waited in line for five hours I looked around at the 9,000 people who were there and realized my chances of getting on were pretty slim. But I decided as I people watched that, Biggest Loser or not, my life was about to change. I didn't get a call back, so I headed back to Nashville determined that something was going to change.

Small changes create HUGE results. It’s a business principle that I've taught and lived by my entire career. So would this work in the quest for healthy living? It seemed logical to me that it would. I called a personal trainer I knew from years ago. As it turned out, he no longer did personal training but now owned a Crossfit gym about 15 minutes from my house. I joined the gym on the drive back from Atlanta. Game On!

What in the world had I gotten myself in to???? Crossfit? Have you seen those crazy people who seem rather fanatic about fitness? The owner of the gym was incredibly nice to me and worked with me one on one for about a month, freeing me from having to be in a class setting and working with me to get my body moving. We focused on nutrition, getting my body moving, staying in movement and making wise choices throughout the day. I knew that “a little extra” would have big results. So if he told me at the end of our workout to row for 500 meters to cool down, I would row 1,000. Small changes have huge results.

So here I am 10 months into it. I go to the gym 3-4 times per week and try to stay moving throughout the day. I eat so much healthier than I ever have. Matter of fact, the more healthy I eat and the more I work out, the less appealing unhealthy food is and the less appealing laying on the couch is. Am I the epitome of health? Not in any form or fashion, but I do feel a ton better than I have in years, and I know I am headed in the right direction. I still want to be on The Biggest Loser and be able to focus solely on my health... But for now, I once again have the energy to do what I really love - and that’s helping people grow their business and have exciting lifestyles.

So no matter where you are in your health and fitness, let me encourage you to make daily choices to improve from the day before. Eat well, get moving, throw out the unhealthy food, drink lots of water and make small changes that will have a huge impact down the road.

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Told you he's great!
Definitely get over to Bonnie's blog and say Hello !!!
Aren't you feeling motivated? Ready to try something new?

Pick something new this weekend and go for it!

*Take a moment to reflect on the big and small things that make your week more beautiful.





AND Weekend Bloglovin Hop