We’re all so dang busy these days.  Work, career, kids, family, relationships, birthdays, weddings, events, more work, more family…and on and on.  What can you do when something changes your already somewhat loaded life? How do lighten up but still get your life back to feeling effortless? How can you stay on track with all those healthy habits you’ve worked so hard to establish?

Earlier this week, my friend and celebrity trainer Valerie Waters took time out of her own crazy busy schedule to share some of her secrets with me on this topic.

Stick around to the end when she gives some details on her upcoming Red Carpet Ready Live event!

Check out the video:

If you live in the Los Angeles area or coming in for a visit…check out the line up for this event.  Not only will you walk away with some much needed star treatment, you’ll also learn the celebrity secrets from some of the top fitness and beauty experts!

Visit:  http://www.redcarpetreadylive.com

Also: If you enjoyed this video, please pass it along to your friends and others using the sharing buttons below!

RANT ALERT… (a bit of a rant really)

I always like to stay on the positive side of things…especially when I’m so passionate about motivating & supporting the people around me or pointing someone in the right direction to something that can improve their lives dramatically.

Also, I acknowledge one simple strategy for a my own health & fitness success…ever single day.  My support system is a vital part of the process.  The people I surround myself with are keys to my success.  So, I pick and choose these people carefully.

The Red Carpet Ready girls have been there for me any time I need a little boost. And just like everyone, even though I spend a lot of time motivating and pushing other people, sometimes I run out of steam and need that little kick in the pants. {Special thanks to you ladies who helped put me back on track just this week!}

That said, I wanted to spend this post talking about bit of downer in my world…maybe something like this has happened to you.  Maybe someone in your life routinely “behaves” in a similar way.  Maybe you are one of these people.

Along your health & fitness journey, you might run across a few Debbie Downers.  People naturally have their ups and downs. I accept that.  But the worst is when people look like supporters and motivators but really aren’t.

Recently, I read a few comments on social media sites where people I know (I’m being vague obviously) make comments that seemed … well, negative toward people who like working out and getting in shape and eating right.  These folks made comments that seemed to be a bit passive aggressive. It’s possible I took their comments the wrong way, but my first reaction was that they had some issue with people who are motivated and outspoken about staying in shape or even just living a healthy life.  The comments I read were laced with a disdain that made me so sad!  (In reality…I do hope I’m wrong about 1 person in particular!)

If you are one of these people who makes the general assumption that health & fitness enthusiasts are all gym heads (muscle heads, no necks, whatever your smarty-pants term is), then think again.

I have met people from a full range of personality types and definitely know that I’m not a gym head.  As I’ve improved my healthy habits, variety of workouts, and general well-being, I find that I am happier and more open to the possibilities that each person brings to my life.  Wow, that’s a mouthful, right?

But seriously, these few comments really made me think about how I support people and liked to be supported.

This weekend, 2 different women in my group reformer classes came in and had clearly made some major changes in their bodies.  Both had been taking pilates for about 6 months.  They consistently showed up to at least 2 classes per week.  They changed their eating. They did the work.

Not only did their bodies change, but both told me about other changes that happened in their lives as a result of weight loss, their increased strength, and consistent attendance to several classes per week.

So you know what I did? I pointed it out to them and everyone in class. I wanted to let them know how much they had both achieved and didn’t hesitate. It was an automatic response for me to share their victory with everyone…even them!

They loved it! And we all rallied around them to show our support.

The next time you make a comment about being all fluffy, full from your food and happy to have that jelly belly–ask yourself: Am I really? And if you are, great, enjoy holidays, enjoy food, but show your enjoyment without lacing your comments with an underlying dislike for those of us who work out, talk about it.

And while you do enjoy the fullness of holiday meals and those yummy snacks on a cold day, you can still do so but from a slightly different angle…and while pursuing a healthy lifestyle.  Celebrating all achievements and sharing them with people is the way to grow on deeper levels.  Don’t undervalue the positive changes that can happen internally and externally for you.

Even though I know you might prefer a brisk walk in the snow to sweating it out in the gym…we’re all in this together.

Do what works for you and support others for doing what works for them!

4 weeks ago I started a personal fitness challenge to go through the 8-week Action Hero Babe training system for the 2nd time.  I’m 1/2 way through and since I didn’t post my intentions at the beginning, I decided to renew them and post my updated list.

Intention in a Word…

First of all, intention is just a word.  According to Merriam Webster, it is: a determination to act in a certain way.  This is a powerful word that resonates with me way more than the word goals.  Intentions are specific things I’m going to do and am doing right now.  Once I set my intentions I am much more likely to stick to them and reach my goals.

For more on the value of declaring your intentions, I highly recommend reading Dr. Wayne Dyer’s Power of Intention.

Creating an intention list is important in any area of your life where you are looking to achieve some thing.  If you don’t know where you are going or what you intend to do, where will you end up and what will the end result of your actions be?

Here’s why I’m renewing my Action Hero Babe intentions:

1. I often do this at slumps in my training to keep me going to the next milestone.
2. It’s an easy way to inject some new energy into your workouts and really help you push beyond what you were originally trying to achieve in the first place.
3. If I’ve been having trouble in any area, it helps me pinpoint those challenges and get over the hurdles.  Being aware and taking responsibility for my actions–be they victories or off-track moments, really keeps my head in the game.

So without further adieu, here are my personal intentions for the second half of my Action Hero Babe personal challenge.

1. I intend to finish this last 4 weeks of the Action Here Babe training system, strong and dedicated to the workouts.
2. I intend to eat clean 80% of the time — keep white sugars, white flours to a minimum.
3. I intend to eat 4-5 servings of vegetables every day.
4. I intend to get my water intake back to normal — 1-2 liters a day.
5. I intend to do my AHB workouts 3 days per week and 2 Pilates Reformer/Mat workouts on the off days.
6. I intend to go to yoga 1x per week.
7. I intend to make this challenge for myself and no one else.  I’m not trying to impress you, I’m trying to feel better more often…and increase my energy levels.
8. I intend to do an outside activity with my family – every single day.  On the weekends, this activity should be a bit longer than normal.  Every day outside with Mila.
9. I intend to smile much more often than I do already.
10. I intend to do an amp’d up version of my original run through Red Carpet Ready.

Ok…so there you go…now, that you see what my intentions are, why don’t you start your own list.  Be as specific as you can.  The more defined your destination, the more motivated you will be to reach it!  In fact, just be writing this post, I feel more focused and ready to reach my own goals.

Just remember…once you have your goals/intentions in place, all you have to do is plot out those first few steps.  You will be surprised how easy it is to take a few more steps each day.

Post your intention list (if you aren’t too shy) and let me help you stay accountable to those goals!