Who just want to have a healthy LIFESTYLE?!

It is the last week of my 60 day PiYo journey. Wow, I can not believe how fast the time has gone! I will write the overall results and feelings about the program next week (almost there!--- but PS: this has been an incredible experience.

My post tonight is about some thoughts I had when getting out of the shower tonight. Yea, I know, random.

I thought to myself "how many people just want to have a healthy lifestyle?  No crossfit junkies, no bodybuilding-steriod pumping lovers, no hungry-angry dieters! But people who genuinely want to lose weight, be HAPPY AND HEALTHY, but do not want the time constraint of spending 5 hours at the gym and endless amounts of money on supplements and personal trainers." I bet a lot of us do!

I know I do! I want to do the minimal amount of work possible to feel and look incredible. Call me "efficient" but I want to be smart with MY time and MY life. I have spent countless hours and YEARS at the gym, trying to sculpt my body. With little to no changes. Like how frustrating!!! After doing PiYO, drinking Shakeology and following the PiYo eating plan, I feel stronger in 2 months than I have in 7 years. WHAT!!! I also eat MORE than I have EVER and I am losing weight. WHAT! (Does anyone else hear Lil John yelling "what!" or is that just me...)

I have not been to the gym once (yay no gym membership fees!) No supplements. No calorie counting. Is it too a hoax? But this is MY chance to have a personal trainer, AT MY HOME, telling me what to eat and how to workout...and it has never felt so good!

Earlier, say around 3 months ago, when I really started thinking about strengthening my body, I reached out to a old high school friend. She is a professional fitness competitor. I said to her "Hey! I am thinking about competing, could I get more information from you." Her response " This is not for everyone...it is really expensive...it takes up a lot of your time and is really tough...you can talk to my trainer if you want..." HARD PASS. Like what is that? It is expensive, takes a lot of your time and money... I mean what is that!

This is why I love Beachbody. I have only been with the company for a little over 3 months...but I am head-over-heels about EVERYTHING this company represents--the products and the profession. As a coach, I work day after day just TALKING TO PEOPLE AND SUPPORTING PEOPLE. That's right... I have an opportunity for an insane amount of income to talk to people about living a healthy and happy life through fitness. LIKE HOW CRAZY IS THAT! WHAT A BLESSING!!!!


If you want to change your LIFESTYLE, please connect with me or a coach that you know. This is an amazing feeling to have and you want to feel this way <3

email me @  andrealyss@beachbodycoach.com

Eating clean does not have to be boring! - chocolate mousse with avocado?

Truths about me----

#1 I throw out WAY too much food as it is (this is something my husband and I are really working on. Throwing out food is throwing out $$$ !!!)
#2 I am "eating clean" for 60 straight days
#3 I have a love of chocolate

So this leads to a mouth-watering experience 

I have almost been skeptical of desserts consisting of avocado. It just did not make sense to me!!!

 I do not know about you, but I buy avocados and do not use them in time so they always go bad on me! I decided to try out this recipe tonight...

It tastes just like chocolate mousse!!!! It curbed my sweet tooth! I was also able to get some healthy fat (avocado) and fruit (banana) servings into my belly! Yay for multi-tasking!!! This is a must try for ANYONE WHO IS TRYING TO EAT HEALTHY BUT LOVES CHOCOLATE!!! (YEP, THAT IS EVERYONE.)

I am so interested in finding healthy alternatives to desserts..especially since the holidays are coming up! Who is going to be busy on pinterest for the next week??...THIS GIRL.

wake up!

Have you ever had a wake up call? Not the annoying snooze button in the morning, but a wake up call for YOUR LIFE?

Maybe you had just lived through an "almost horrible" accident. Maybe you lost a dear loved one and their passing awakened you. Maybe the birth of your child made you realize the priorities in life. Maybe you lost a job. Maybe it is looking in the mirror and you are wondering where all that weight has come from...

Everybody has a story. Not everybody has a wake up call.

My grandmother recently passed in May, 2014. She put up a really good and strong fight, but the Lord was ready to take her. She had lost the battle with COPD. She taught me to live for the Lord and to love family. I was saddened by her passing... to know that one day someone is here and the next day they aren't is just something that is so bazaar to me. I like to think that her strength and fiesty-ness can be found in me. Her passing into heaven was certainly a wake up call to me.

Ok so let us move on to something not so dramatic right?!

The wake up call for my fitness journey happened about 1.5 months ago. I was participating in a coach's conference with Beachbody. And obviously (to no one's surprise) we all worked out together afterwards! We were lucky enough to try a new fitness program that is yet to be released (coming soon--it is incredible!!!).

During the workout, I felt weak. I specifically remember doing these "punching" moves and literally feeling like my arms were weak little stretchy stubs like the arms of Stretch Armstrong (reference 1980s children's toy.) I was embarrassed. I was angry!!! I have been working out for YEARS so why do I feel like this?!?! I felt unhealthy. I decided right then and there that I was going to bust my butt for a healthier me! And I decided to change....just like that!

So what has been your wake up call? 


One of my dear friends from work recently had a heart attack. He smoked cigarettes for +30 years, drank multiple caffeine drinks (not coffee), drank lots of alcohol almost daily, and surely did not eat healthy by any means. He now has 2 stints in his heart.  The doctors told him that one more cigarette could possibly burst his heart. He must attend physical therapy. I told him " I am excited for you. You have a second chance at life! You have a new beginning!!!" He agreed...not for himself...but for his children. See, his young boy was the one who had to call the ambulance to tell them that his dad was having a heart attack. The little boy could not leave his dad's side for 3 days for fear that he would lose him forever...


Everything that happens to you is part of God's plan. I have learned to truly listen and reflect on things that happen to me. If I listen and pray, I know that God will lead me.

Day 30: This is a journey...not a weekend getaway.

This is day 30 of my journey!!! 

For this monumental day, I took "Day 1" vs "Day 30" photos. And I will be honest ( as I always am), I was pretty disappointed with the results. Let me explain why...

I feel amazing! I feel strong, mentally and physically. I am determined and dedicated to what I am doing. I feel such an electricity in side of me when I open my life up to people around me!

But it is because I feel so great that I also feel disappointment from the photos. See, I feel better than I look. I expected to see this ripped, toned body in the photo and all I saw was literally the same person from a month ago. WTF!

Granted, I have no attention to detail. Ok, so I have some but very little.---Like I do not put it on my resume that I am "detail-oriented." Nope, not me!!

I was so upset at the photos that I blamed my husband (who took the photos) for the fact that he took only one and that I wasn't even "flexing." Yikes!

I teared up a little... and then used that disappointment as fuel for kick @$$ workout. I busted butt tonight. If I want more results, I have to work for them! I did not wallow in my lack of result...no no no. I had a great workout and shock it off!! (Darn it, now I have that Taylor Swift song in my head...PS which is a GREAT song...and I do "shake it off" ...every time.)

I expected more from my body. I have high expectations for my body. And I will get there. This is a journey...not a weekend getaway.

This post today was an eye-opener for me...but...

I will not quit. I will not settle. Change does not happen over night. And what I expect from  my body will not be done in 1 month...it may not be done in 2 months (it most likely with take A LOT longer than that.)  I will continue to have high expectations!!! 

What is Piyo?

I have referenced the word "PiYo" a lot in my blog. Some of you may be wondering "What is this PiYo that she speaks of?" or some of you may just think it is typo.

This post is to give more incite into my fitness program for these 60 days. Note: this is not to sell the program, but to educate and inspire!! 
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I used to be cautious of lifting weights in the past, or doing any type of high-intensity workouts. "I just want to be skinny." Boy, was I dumb!? That is probably why I have no muscle definition hahah (until PiYo obviously) Muscle is sexy!! 

PiYo is a low-impact, high-intensity body-transformation program by Beachbody. It uses the most effective Pilates- and yoga-inspired moves set to a fast pace to help burn fat while sculpting long, lean muscles. And boy, do I feel it! I tell you what, these workouts feel amazing after a long day of sitting at a desk..or any day actually. It is so rewarding knowing that I worked out HARD and never left my apartment. Since I want to stay really busy, I love being more efficient with my time by working out at home (the workouts are anywhere from 20 minutes- 40 minutes).

Low impact does not mean "low energy required"---these workouts kick my butt!!! My legs have never felt so toned and strong before!! Like pilates and yoga, I use a lot of core muscles through these workouts. I mean , A LOT. I have noticed that my stomach and back have really toned up through these 30 days (half way done! )

I had issues in the past with yoga and pilates. I know these fitness programs are amazing, do not get me wrong. But I have a need to always be moving and I just could not sit still long enough to finish the yoga workout! I enjoy these PiYo workouts because they are so fast paced. There are various times through out the fitness workout which I can do "down dog" and "up dog" (typical yoga poses; allow my body time to rest for about 30 seconds from the intense sweat storm that is happening!)

My fitness program came with 3 dvds of 8 high intensity-low impact workouts (and 1 bonus dvd!) * workouts allow for variety so I do not get bored with the program. Because I do get bored with things!! Variety gives my body something new to adapt to so I will actually see better results.

I have 30 days left. (That is the timeline I set for myself. People can do this for a year, people can do this for a month. But the program is designed for 60 days so that is what I am doing) I can not wait to see how this program has transformed my  body!  Note: that is not me in the photo...but that is my goal-!!!!