Cutting out the Toxic People

Some people can suck the happiness right out of you. People are toxic in different ways, and some of them have multiple traits. Here are just a few of the top offenders:

• The Critic: Sure, constructive criticism can be a good thing, but some people feel the need to criticize everything/everyone around them. They choose not to be happy for others and cut others down instead. 
• The Victim: These people are experts at blaming their problems on everyone/everything else. They will not take ownership for their own choices or mistakes. Nothing is ever their fault. Other people or their upbringing are to blame. 
• Negative Nancy: These are the people who are always anxious, pessimistic, worried, and complain a lot. It's easy to get caught up in their rantings and be drawn into the negative spiral. There should be a vaccination for this one!
• The Short Fuse: This is that person that goes into an instant outburst or worse, they are looking for a fight all the time. You're always walking on egg shells hoping you don't set them off.
• The Guilt Trip: Some people lay on the guilt using it to manipulate you into doing something.

I've been through training from top motivational speakers, I read/listen to a lot of self improvement, and I know and follow a lot of successful people. One of the things they all insist on is eliminating toxic relationships. If someone is damaging you, it's time to take some protective measures. If someone was bullying, manipulating, or cutting down your child, would you allow it to continue? Of course not! Then why do you let others do that to YOU?! I know that many of us (me included) don't like confrontation, but when you cut out the toxic people from your life, a ginormous weight will be lifted! 

In some cases, it's really simple to cut out the toxic people. On Facebook, you can just unfriend or even block them! Did you realize that? It's YOUR wall. Make it a positive place to visit! Someone keeps making snide comments? Delete the comments! If it continues, block them! Bam!

In real life, it's not quite so easy. There are some people we have to deal with on a regular basis such as co-workers, family, etc. Set boundaries for what you'll accept and what you won't accept. If they step over the boundary, explain to them how you feel. Some people might not even realize they're being negative, using guilt trips, or even hurtful! Also, find ways that you can spend less time near that person.

Just the opposite: surround yourself with positive, inspirational people that lift you up and push you to be better! When you surround yourself with these people, your whole outlook on life changes, you feel like you can do anything, and you learn to follow your dreams! And when your life is filled with so much positive energy, it's easier to block out the negative.

And keep in mind, that by setting boundaries, learning to say no, cutting out the negative, and surrounding yourself with positive people, you are also teaching your children to do the same.

Putting the "die" in Diet.

We've been told through media and socially that cutting out the regular soda and replacing it with diet is the right thing to do. I know I did! But, you’d be wrong just as I learned the hard way. Here’s how diet soda makes you fat and causes damage to our bodies.

The soda/pop manufacturers want us to believe that simply by cutting calories, they’ve fixed the problem. But, the truth is that drinking diet soda is actually worse than drinking regular! 

Many studies have shown the following:

• Artificial sweeteners are sweeter and more addictive than regular sugar causing diet soda drinkers to consume twice as much as regular soda drinkers. 
• Diet sodas actually raised the risk of diabetes MORE than regular soda. Those who drank a 12 ounce diet soda increased their risk by about 33 percent. Yikes!
• In other population studies, diet soda drinkers face a 200 percent increased risk of obesity. That's a huge percentage! 

So, how does diet soda make you fat?

• Since the artificial sweeteners are much sweeter than regular sugar (hundreds to thousands of times more), we crave it even more. Been there. I swear I couldn't get enough! How many sodas do you go through per day? 
• Your body can’t tell the difference between real sugar and the artifical crap, so it increases production of insulin and you get more belly fat. Woohoo! Isn't that what we all want? Ummm..no.
• Fake sugar confuses your body and causes your metabolism to slow down and you burn less calories. Wrong direction people! We want to create fat-burning machines!
• It also makes you hungrier, but you won’t crave veggies…you’ll crave more sugar and starchy carbs. Things like pop & pizza seems to go hand in hand. Not so much with asparagus. 

On top of that, aspartame and sucralose (NutraSweet, Equal & Splenda) can cause some SERIOUS health problems! Unfortunately I learned this the hard way, and now I have chronic migraines. 

Why are acid reflux meds one of the fastest growing groups of meds in the US? Do you use them? Even if you don't, I bet you know at least one person that does!

Why is poor bone health so high in the US?

Check out this video. It explains how the "normal" American diet, including the highly consumed diet soda, is very acidic and what those high acidity levels are doing to our bodies and how they are causing us to deplete our calcium resources and slow our metabolisms.

Drink water and focus on eating whole foods, including fruits and veggies…and, SKIP THE SODA, diet or otherwise!

I know water can be boring. Especially when you've been drinking soda for so long! Here are a couple things you can do to give it a boost:

• Slice of lemon or lime
• Frozen fruit
• Mint, basil, peppermint leaves
• Sparkling water when you need that fizz! Just make sure you read the ingredients!

**Hydration tip: Most people aren't drinking enough water. Try to aim for 1/2 your body weight in ounces. For example: A person weighs 160lbs. 160/2 = 80 ounces of water per day. 

And, consider doing the Ultimate Reset, which not only helps create healthy new eating habits over 21 days, but also resets your body to optimal alkalinity, and can help you kick that nasty soda habit (among other bad habits) to the curb! 

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE ULTIMATE RESET HERE

Cash for Christmas

WANT TO EARN SOME $$ for Christmas??

I can’t believe its already holiday shopping time! I haven't even started yet! Eek! I love Christmas. I love giving presents and seeing people's faces light up! It's not always easy to figure out what people want or need, but it's fun! The hard part is having to budget. How amazing to be able to pay cash for everything and not rack up the credit cards!! Then I realized that EVERYONE would like to earn a little extra income for the holidays.

So, when I started coaching I wanted to help other people with their fitness and nutrition. I just wanted other people to feel the exact same way that I did: full of energy, more confident, happier, and ready to tackle the day! And being able to fit into 4 sizes smaller is awfully nice!! I love to help people get results, experience the awesome support of our challenge groups, teach them about nutrition and help them to be accountable. These groups are what helped get me results. I didn't want to get another gym membership that I wasn't going to use, but I still needed some support. Over time I also realized that helping people as a coach can really help provide financial security for my family so this year that means paying CASH for Christmas.

So I’m going to return the favor to you! I feel very confident that I have a system in place that could help you earn at least $250-500 towards your holiday this year! I want to help a select group of interested people earn extra income through Beachbody Coaching.

We will do this together as a team with my full support. I will be in charge of running the groups, you will invite people you know and I will teach you everything that I know! You don’t have to be a health and fitness expert, you just have to be willing to help others start their path to a healthy lifestyle by showing them you are living a healthy lifestyle too. You also have to be a product of the product which means that you do a Beachbody workout regularly and you drink Shakeology as one superfood meal per day. How can you teach other people if you don’t lead by example….RIGHT?? 

I will be taking just 5 people for this so that I can give you 1:1 mentoring. I will teach you how to get started and exactly what to do!!!  Are you interested???  Are you a motivated, driven, and compassionate person?  If so then this would be a good fit for you!  The good thing is that Beachbody coaching is the gift that keeps on giving!  Long after the holidays are over you can continue to grow your business to whatever extent you see fit!  I will always be your mentor and sponsor to be here to support you.  Complete the application below and I will get in touch with you right away!

Apply to be a Beachbody Coach on my team

Team Beachbody Coach Ranks & Requirements

There are many different Coach Ranks. Each level earns new perks and compensations each week. Ranks are calculated every Wednesday at 12pm Eastern Time, and commission paychecks are sent out every Thursday. Your rank is determined by your personal volume and what's going on with your right and left legs at that time.

Coaching has changed our lives. We were able to pay off our truck four years early, and we just purchased a car with cash, leaving us with only our mortgage, and that's getting paid down quickly! We have also been able to go on trips to Disney World, Las Vegas, Arizona, and a cruise! Next month we're going on our first Disney cruise PLUS time at Disney World before and after! Can you tell that I love Disney? My husband is working on his coaching business from home, and my goal is to work from home too. I want to be home when my daughter gets off the bus from school, be there with her during summer vacation, take her to the beach, have more time with my family, pay off my mortgage and be DEBT FREE, go on more family vacations, help my team reach their goals, and so much more! You gotta dream BIG! What would you do with the extra income?

The Different Team Beachbody Coach Ranks

An INACTIVE Coach (the white circle) has not sold or purchased 50PV (appx $55 worth of product) in the past 5 weeks. They do not receive bonuses, and they will not receive a paycheck because they haven't sold anything.

An ACTIVE Coach (the blue circle) has sold or purchased 50PV ($55) or more in the past 5 weeks. If the Coach has sold any products to a client, he/she will earn a paycheck totaling his/her commissions on Thursday!

Both ACTIVE AND INACTIVE Coaches still receive the 25% discount on ALL Beachbody products!

An EMERALD Coach (the green circle) is an active Coach that has two personally sponsored (PS) Coaches. (One Coach on EACH leg.) A PS Coach is someone that signs up under you. As an Emerald Coach, you will receive commission paychecks for any products sold, you have the chance to earn FREE customer leads, PLUS Team Bonuses ($14 each). Your team bonus is calculated by what your downline coaches do, so it's important to help them learn to be a successful coach. Watch the video below explaining how to earn Team Bonuses.

A RUBY Coach (the red circle) has sold or purchased 75PV or more in the last 5 weeks, and has an EMERALD Coach on each leg plus two more PS Coaches. As a RUBY, you earn commissions, free leads, the team bonus goes up to $16 each, and you receive a weekly matching bonus of 5% of whatever your Emerald Coaches earn in team bonuses! 

A DIAMOND Coach (the gold circle) has sold or purchased 100PV in the last 5 weeks, and they have 2 EMERALD Coaches and 6 more PS coaches (of any level) = 4 coaches on each leg. As a Diamond, you earn commissions, free customer leads, the team bonus goes up to $18 each, and you receive a 10% matching bonus!

Reaching for the Stars!

Each "Star" represents one of your PS coaches that has reached Diamond Rank. When you reach 2-Star status, you start earning bonuses from the Star Diamond Pool! A Beachbody Coach ranked at 15-Star Diamond could earn 6-figures just from bonuses!! That's crazy, right?!

I know it can be a little (or a LOT) confusing. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to send me an email at ml.williamson@hotmail.com or contact me on Facebook.

Are you ready to sign up as a Coach?

My husband, Doug, and I would love to help you get started and reach your goals! You don't have to be a fitness guru or nutritionist, and you don't even need to be at your goal weight! You just need the desire to help others reach their finess, health, and/or financial goals!

If you're ready to change your life, click HERE: I want to be a Beachbody Coach!



Watch this video to learn how Team Bonuses work:

Recharging My Battery

Just three weeks ago, I was worn down, suffering from anxiety attacks and depression, I couldn't focus on anything, I ached all over, I was waking up a lot during the night and had times I couldn't get back to sleep, my coffee intake was through the roof, my digestion was terrible, I was bloated, and I was having major sugar binges. I wasn't feeling like myself and I was miserable and making my family miserable. It was time for a Reset.

The Ultimate Reset is a combination of healthy foods and supplements over 21 days to clean out the toxins, get the body back in balance, and help with digestion, restore energy, boost the metabolism, etc. It's supposed to make you feel better by eating good food and getting rid of the crap. (at times, literally)

My mom had just come back for the summer, so we decided to do this together! Before we started I was really nervous. I hate salads! Give me meat and potatoes and I'm happy. With the Reset, I couldn't have any of that! What was I thinking?! I of course had a fantastic "last meal" the day before we started; pizza, dessert, etc. All those yummy things I couldn't have for 21 days. Oh, and I couldn't do my workouts! You're not supposed to do intense workouts during the Reset so the body can focus on the internal work, so I had to cut down to only light yoga and walking. And then it began...

Over the three weeks, we cut out sugar, caffeine, meat, dairy, grains, and legumes. The first four days, I had a migraine. I'm sure it's from cutting out all the sugar and caffeine. After that passed, I was much better though. The rest of that week and the second week were a breeze! The third week was torture for lunch! During the first two weeks, we had different kinds of salads with quinoa, we had rice and beans, etc., but the 3rd week was my nightmare: salads every.single.day for lunch. Are they freaking kidding me?! I have to admit that it kinda grew on me though. Well, a teensy bit. The salad we ate most days had a TON of different veggies, and I love the Creamy Garlic Dressing! Oh, and have you had toasted pumpkin seeds in your salad?? Yumm!! (I just have to hide them from my daughter before she eats the all.) I will actually try to add salads in a few times a week from now on, but I still don't want to see it ALL THE TIME. I might add some quinoa, hard boiled egg or something else though.

Other than the salad, I actually enjoyed the food! There was quite a bit to eat, and the recipes were great! My mom and I could live on the Zucchini-Cashew Soup and the stir-frys! Definitely going in my recipe app! I made it a little easier on myself the last week too and chose the baked sweet potato for a side. That gave me something to look forward too.

By the way, you know you have a food problem when you start dreaming about french fries and ice cream at night! lol! Apparently the addiction to those foods was trying to make me stray.

So, how did the Reset help me? After 21 Days, this is how I'm feeling:

• I have ENERGY!! I actually wake up and I'm ready to go! No more pre-workout drink or coffee needed to get a jump-start! 
• I'm focused again! I don't have the "squirrel" syndrome going on!
• My digestion is fantastic! Sorry if TMI, but we all have problems sometimes.
• I fall asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and I'm OUT for the night!
• The inflammation is GONE! No more joint or back and neck pain! 
• I haven't had any anxiety attacks since I started, and I feel happy!! 
• I lost 10 1/2 lbs in 21 days!! I'm having a hard time keeping my pants up! 
• I actually like asparagus now! 
• Proud of myself for making it through 21 Days and NO cheats!! 
• Happy that I was able to do this with my mom and spend that extra time with her. By the way, she's feeling fantastic too! She can even eat citrus for the first time in many, many years! It used to cause canker sores and horrible jaw pain. We had citrus almost daily during the Reset, and she didn't have a problem! She lost 9 1/2 lbs! 

ALL this from eating super healthy and cleaning out my body, and we did not starve! There were even times that we couldn't finish all the food! 

Today was the first day after. I'm slowly introducing foods back in. They recommend adding grains the first week after, but I honestly don't miss them. Instead, my daughter (10) surprised me with her amazing scrambled eggs this morning. I also had a hard boiled egg on my salad (yep, still gotta stick with those for a bit), and I made an omelette for dinner full of veggies. Next I'll start adding in different meats, dairy, grains, and legumes one at a time to see which ones affect my digestion, my sleep, cause the inflammation, etc., so I know what I need to avoid from now on. I want to continue feel this amazing! It's really crazy how changing foods can make such an impact on your life! 

If you want to learn more about the Ultimate Reset, click HERE.

I also started another round of the 21 Day Fix workout program this morning! It felt so good to be back to it! And it was a great workout! They recommend holding back and only going 50% for the first few days to a week, but I had a hard time holding back! I just had so much energy and wanted to MOVE! It's 21 days until our trip to Nashville, and I can't wait to see what this next 21 brings! 

Shakeology: A Possible Migraine Relief?

Could Shakeology® help relieve migraines?

How often do you have to miss out on life because you have another migraine? I don't know about you, but I get so angry and frustrated just thinking about all the times I've had to miss out on things like playing with my daughter, spending time with my husband, hanging with friends and family, going on trips, and even ordinary things like being able to make dinner and going to work.

Did you know that it's estimated that 36 million people in America suffer from migraines?! That’s more than those who experience diabetes and asthma combined! I couldn't believe when I read that! I had no idea there are that many other people going through this too. How sad is that?? According to the Migraine Research Foundation, there are three times as many women (27 million, to be more exact) than men who suffer from these severe headaches and other associated symptoms.

When you’ve experienced any of the symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, dizziness, auras, sensitivity to light and/or sounds, etc., I'm sure you're like me, and you would do ANYTHING to simply make it go away. My husband knows it's bad when I'm begging to go in to the ER for a shot or get an IV. I hate needles, but I just NEED the pain to be gone! I can't tell you how many different treatments I've tried between meds and home remedies. Medications and learning your headache triggers are often the only treatments available, and it's not always easy to pinpoint exactly what the trigger might be! It's a long, horrible process that you have to keep suffering through, and how many times does it turn out to be one of our favorite foods? I miss chocolate so much! That's just a whole new level of suffering! Suffering through them, however, and enduring the excruciating pain is the norm for many of us migraine victims. And when you're in that much pain and they come frequently, you can develop symptoms of depression. It affects your emotions, and you are frustrated, disappointed, angry, sad, scared, tired of hurting, exhausted, and a myraid of other feelings. You wonder if you'll ever feel good again. Heck, sometimes you forget what it feels like to NOT hurt. 

However, there might be hope! There are no clinical trials that indicate that Shakeology® will or won’t help reduce your migraine symptoms. However, there are a TON of Shakeology® drinkers who will testify to how their daily shake has helped them. I'm one of them!! Some don’t have to take medication any more. Others haven’t had a migraine in months. I have noticed a huge decrease in the frequency and severity of my migraines! I went from a couple per week down to about one per MONTH!! 

Check out these other testimonials:

“I’ve been taking Excedrin daily for years due to headaches and migraines. Since I started drinking Shakeology® daily five weeks ago, I rarely have ANY headaches. Geez…the money I’ve saved on medicine, alone, is worth it! Not to mention, I hardly have any cravings,” commented Josephine.

Lindsay says, “I used to get horrible migraines quite often. But, since I started using Shakeology®, they’ve greatly decreased.”

Amanda had a similar experience: “I have had chronic migraines my whole life, and I can totally agree that Shakeology® has helped me. I feel great and only get headaches when I drink too much, which is too be expected. LOL!”

Sarah agrees, too. She claimed, “My migraines have decreased significantly due to drinking Shakeology® daily. This is coming from someone who has tried EVERYTHING!”

Zoe is extremely thankful she switched to Shakeology® and a healthier lifestyle. She provides this testimony: “I suffered from migraines for years. I went through numerous exams, tests and different doctors. I was on Imitrex, Maxalt, you name it. Also to mention, I was on ADHD (Strattera) and anxiety medications. Living a healthier lifestyle + working out + changing my nutrition to whole foods (organic and natural) helped me a lot. Shakeology® also played a good part in it. I slowly weaned off the medications and have been medication free since January 2010 and use natural remedies if I do have bad migraine spells, which don’t happen as often as before. It has been pretty rare that I get migraines/headaches… I believe making positive changes help in all aspects in your life, body and well being.”

Trish Lynn shares:  “I have suffered with migraines since middle school and throughout the years I have tried many different prescriptions and none of them have worked. They have either made me severely sick or just didn’t work. Since I started Shakeology my migraines have completely gone away and I have even noticed that if I miss a shake its guaranteed that I will get a headache. It’s pretty much become like medicine to me and I am so thankful that this has come into my life.”

Brenda “Since starting Shakeology, I’ve only had to give myself 4 injections for my migraines, and taken very few other meds for them! I used to take just that in a week! AND, I finally feel good enough to start exercising again! Migraines and headaches are not as bad! However, if I skip a day of Shakeology, I usually get a mild headache towards evening. There is something in that shake that keeps the daily headaches away, and the migraines from occurring as often.”

Shakeology® fuels your body with the healthy vitamins and nutrients it needs to function properly. And, while health experts identify migraines as neurological disorders, the symptoms and the frequency may be reduced by drinking a daily dose of Shakeology®. The disorder can’t be cured, but you may be able to diminish the symptoms that rob you of your quality of life.

And, if it’s as easy as mixing up a shake a day and drinking it, I’m all in!  Order Here!

Egg Cups

This recipe comes from the 21 Day Fix Extreme nutrition guide. I've been making these every week for snacks. Trying to fit in all my veggies and proteins each day for 21 Day Fix and Fix Extreme can be difficult at times, and these little gems make it so much easier!! I'm not usually a fan of spinach, but I can't even taste it in here! Add a little hot sauce (Free food!), and spice it up a bit! I like to change up the seasonings and veggies to mix up the flavor too. I recommend trying "Mural of Flavor" from Penzey's. 

Makes 6 servings, 2 cups each

12 eggs, beaten

Sea Salt and pepper 

5oz fresh spinach, chopped

1 bell pepper, diced

2 green onions, chopped 

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 12 serving muffin tin with olive oil cooking spray. 

Beat the eggs well and mix in the salt and pepper. 

Pour egg mixture into prepared muffin pan. 

Top with chopped veggies. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean. 

Enjoy!!

21 Day Fix = 1 Red and 1 Green 

Pork Fried Cauliflower Rice

This recipe comes from the Primal Blueprint Quick & Easy Cookbook by Mark Sissons. I use my food processor to quickly grate the cauliflower. Really comes out like rice! I like to double the recipe so we have lots of leftovers for lunches. :)

Makes 3 servings

3 tbsp sesame or coconut oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3/4 lb pork, cut into small pieces (raw or cooked)
4 tbsp tamari
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 sm head cauliflower, grated
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup frozen peas
4 scallions, roughly chopped

Heat a wok or skillet over high heat and add 1 tbsp of oil. Add onion and saute until it starts to brown, about 2 minutes.

Add the meat and 1 tbsp of tamari. Saute 2-3 minutes (or longer if raw meat needs more time) then add the remaining oil, the garlic, and the cauliflower. Saute 2-3 minutes.

Add the eggs and remaining tamari. Stir constantly as the egg cooked, then add peas and chopped scallions. Cook just a minute or two more. Enjoy!