Couch to 5k Training

Hey Readers,

I am excited to tell you I am starting a new program, couch to 5k! I've already finished Week One. Each week consist of three runs, but I'm too excited to stop at three. It's day 5 and I'm already moving on to Week Two!

When I'm outside running, it feels like nothing can touch me. After I have finished a 30 minute run (which is only 2 miles right now), I feel excited and I have more energy, once I'm cooled down, then when I started!

Have you done Couch to 5K?
How'd it work for you?
Want to start Couch to 5K? Here is a website where you can explore the                         program http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/

Share your story with us in the comments below, or send me an e mail!!

Happy Healthy Living,

Becca

When the Fat Drowns You

Dear Readers,

If you are like me, you have been at a place in your life where you didn't have the money for healthy foods (eating ramen noodels and such) and you no longer had a gym membership and working out outside in the blistering summer heat was not amusing.

After a period of time, you begin to slowly gain inches. Maybe you aren't gaining much weight, but your clothes fit tighter and you feel grossed out each time you look in the mirror. Everything around you begins screaming YOU'RE FAT AND UGLY. The girls on tv, the skinny girls on facebook posting half naked pictures in their bathing suits, and even though you say "Look at them, they look ridiculous posing like that," you are secretly wishing you had their bodies, even if you don't plan on showing them off quite as much as the girls in the picture.

During that time, you go through several phases.

Denial- I'm still in good shape (even though you know you aren't)
Realization- A sad sad part where you just are overwhelmed with weight
Giving up- When you feel like the fat is just drowning you and you don't want to think about trying.
**This should be the storm before the rainbow**
Acceptance and New Eyes- When you accept that you have gained inches and weight and you know its time to do something (at this point you do something about it!)

The first three steps, some of us repeat and  repeat before we get to the last step. Overcoming the feeling of being fat can be incredibly tough! Even when you get the step of Acceptance and New Eyes, you still feel fat for a while.

I went through these stages while I've been moving from South Carolina to Georgia. Life has been hard without having a job (although I have one now, just haven't started getting paid yet), money, or a gym membership. I've let myself stop blogging, stop working out, and stop eating right. Although the last part, I can't really control until I have money.

Yesterday, I looked in the mirror feeling ugly and hating my image, and yesterday I went through the step of Acceptance and New Eyes. I've been successful in completing two days of Couch to 5k training with my iphone. While my battle is not over, I know that I am trying, and that makes me feel better instantly. In about 3 weeks I will begin to see my old self waking up. I will look in the mirror and be able to say, "Hello Beautiful, it's been a while."

While you are on your journey, if you ever feel ugly or fat, just remember, you are beautiful from the inside out! And soon others will see your outward beauty!

Happy Healthy Living,

Becca

Stay tuned to the blog for a post on why we have to keep reliving our weight loss journeys.

Winner of the Vi-Shake Giveaway!

I am happy to announce that Summer has won this Vi-Shake Giveaway!

I am also happy to say, I have a lot of Vi-Salus left! And other things I want to giveaway!

So if you didn't win this time, that's okay. Stay tuned and you can have another chance to win!!

Happy Healthy Living,

Becca

Find What Motivates You- Guest Speaker: SUMMER

Hey y’all!

Becca asked me to appear on the blog as a guest blogger. I should probably tell you a little bit about myself before I go into too much detail about my journey.

My name is Summer. I am a 21 year old college student, studying History and Political Science in North Carolina. I met Becca when I was 12 or 13 years old. We were best friends in middle school, but lost contact after we went to different high schools freshman year and then I ultimately moved away. I was so excited to reconnect on Facebook and even more excited to see her weight loss journey. 

Now, about my journey. All throughout my life I have been extremely athletic. I played every sport you could think of as a kid and in high school I was a state champion golfer. I took care of my body and loved being in shape. I think when I started to struggle with keeping in shape was right when I turned 15. I tore my ACL and subsequently had to have major knee surgery. I went through the surgery and rehab and came out in really good shape, but when I started to have complications and needed a second surgery on my knee I began to lose my drive to stay fit. However, I did maintain my weight until I went to college.

First semester of college I didn’t gain anything. I fluctuated here and there, but for the most part I stayed the same. Second semester was a whole new story though. I began to take a new medication and instantly my weight shot up. I, however, was in denial. I stayed in denial until the summer after my sophomore year when I went shopping for shorts and I had gone up 4 pants sizes. I worked out and “ate right” that summer and dropped a few pounds, but the weight went right back on once the semester started and the crazy schedule began.

At the beginning of this year, I promised myself I wouldn’t ignore my weight issue anymore. While I didn’t have the time to exercise at the gym frequently, I did do little things that helped me get more active. One thing I started doing was taking the stairs whenever the option was there, even when I was running late. I also started eating the right sized portions in the spring. I wasn’t eating the most balanced things, but I had cut back. I lost 7 pounds easily doing that.

Now that I have moved into my own place, I have really been able to focus on eating clean and eating right. I have started exercising regularly too. I run every other day and have been following the Air Force Basic Training Prep program to work my way up to a healthy running habit. Since I was such an avid athlete and still consider myself to be one, only recovering, I love to do things that make me pour sweat and really feel my workout when I am done. Because of that I have adopted an intense body weight routine that I do in my apartment daily. Since I started regularly doing all of this I am down 20 pounds overall for the year and at my lightest I have been in almost two years.

I really want to encourage you not to lose your motivation. It is so hard to lose weight, but I promise you will see results and that you will meet your goal. Some tips I do want to pass on to you. 1) Don’t weigh yourself daily, then everything becomes about the number, not about how you look and feel. 2) Results take time, patience is a virtue, especially when it comes to weight loss. 3) Surround yourself with people who motivate you to be better, not bring you down. Coming to Becca’s blog is a great way to start finding the positive influence you need. I can never begin to thank Becca enough for all her motivation and helpfulness on my journey.

I hope you have a successful journey. If I can help you in anyway, just contact Becca and she can get you in touch with me!

Healthy Living,

Summer

From Becca:

If you would like to hear more from Summer, leave a comment or e-mail me! We can try to get her back on the blog again. 

Thanks Summer for appearing on the blog, you are a true inspiration!!!

Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30: Bliss

Dear Readers,

Tomorrow completes my first week of Jillian Michaels Ripped in 30! I am feeling WONDERFUL!!! It's really a love hate relationship. During the workout, I HATE IT. After the workout, I recommend the workout to you! It works!! I can feel every muscle in my body. One of my friends told me its for girls. However, my boyfriend would beg to differ. Wes is a lifter and a runner, and it still kicks his tail! 

The great thing about this DVD IS its ONLY 20 MINUTES!!! It's fast, but you can TELL  a difference the next morning. Every muscle will be sore! By the end of week four I will post before and after pictures so you can hopefully see the difference. I can feel it, but "seeing is believing", sometimes anyways.

DONT FORGET TO ENTER TO WIN IN THE VI-SALUS GIVE AWAY!!

Happy Healthy Living,

Remember what I looked like before the initial journey?

GIVEAWAY

Dear Readers,

To show appreciation of your reading my blog, and to support you in your health goals, I am starting my first giveaway.

The first giveaway will include one package of Vi-shake mix.

Stay tuned, read the blog, subscribe.

When the giveaway widget is up, ENTER to win! Share it with your friends!

This is my first giveaway. Please be patient with me.

Happy Healthy Living Giveaway Rules

**All entries must be in the continental United States. Cannot mail to Alaska or Hawaii. This is simply because of shipping fees. I will host other giveaways where everyone can participate. I will create a blog announcing the winner. The winner must then e-mail me with their shipping address. After I have received this e-mail, your Vi-shake will be in the mail no later than 7 days after your e-mail was sent. IF THE WINNER HAS NOT CLAIMED THEIR PRIZE AFTER 10 DAYS, a new winner may be chosen.**

Thank you for reading! Good luck!

Giveaway opens June 1, 2013.

This giveaway is not affiliated with Visalus. This is product which I have bought and am giving away to promote health and fitness among my readers.

Life Change

Dear Readers,

Update:
As most of you know, I have been juicing for a while, off and on do to financial circumstances. I was on it for two weeks with my boyfriend, before graduation, and lost around 10 pounds. When I came home, I spent a week juicing once a day and eating the foods my family eats. My mother and sister do not make much money, and I am currently looking for a summer job. By the end of one week, literally seven days, I had enough. I was eating a tortilla chip and looked in the mirror. I instantly dropped the chip and said, I CANNOT DO THIS. When I am not juicing, I feel depressed and aggravated  even bloated. I hate feeling this way. I hate looking in the mirror and seeing the disgusting food loving machine. (Okay that's exaggerating the problem a bit, but in a sense it's also the truth). I confronted my mom and sister, who supposedly believe in juicing. After breaking down on them, we immediately went through the cabinets and took out ALL of the junk. Nothing was left to temp me. We also got rid of all unhealthy appliances, such as the microwave, the deep fryer (which we haven't used in years), the rotisery (not sure how to spell it, but we have only used it once), and the waffle maker (we haven't used this in years, but I am sad to see this go. lol.). We are ready for a clean start.

Life Change: Self-love:
Those of you who have seen Hungry for Change will remember where they discussed self love. The reason we tend to eat, in today's society, is for comfort. We had a hard day at work, dinner: mac-n-cheese, and steak Snack: ice cream. Our boss made us mad and we are already exhausted: Grab a coke. We feel down about how much we weigh, eat three boxes of Fiber One brownies (they're good for you right?) I don't know what YOUR eating habits are, but examine them, often times we eat based on feelings.

We do not accept ourselves. I am very guilty of this one. When I weighed 200 pounds, I'd look in the mirror and feel disgusted. I hated myself. When I lost weight, I barely remember the process, but I fell in love with myself again. I was active, I ate right, I simply enjoyed life at 165. I maintained that weight for two and a half years, granted I had to constantly work on it. I'm now at 168, and feel disgusted with myself yet again. BUT WHY?? I am only three pounds more than I was. I understand I still want to be active and feel healthy, but I did feel that way when I first lost weight. Right now, I hate looking in the mirror. And I don't know why.

I was talking with a friend yesterday, who we will call Doctor Awesome. He reminded me, no one is perfect. Therefore, we can always find something we dislike about ourselves. It is human nature to want to change what we see is wrong. Going back to Hungry for Change, we have to learn to love ourselves.

Each day for one week, I am going to find something positive to say about myself. I will write it down, so I can share it with you next week. I do not know just how this will work, and maybe you will consider me pathetic for doing this, but I do know, when you love yourself, others will be drawn to you. I have proof of that. Let's start an epidemic of self-love and see what change we can make in our bodies, and in other as well.

Happy Healthy Living,

Becca

Back on Track

Dear Readers,

Sorry it has been so very long since I have posted! I was student teaching this semester and attempting to graduate from college. I DID IT! I graduated this past Saturday! Woohoo!! In the whirlwind of grades, lesson planning, projects, and stress, I gained some weight this semester. Quite honestly, I was scared to look, and didn't. If I had to guess I'd say I got up in the upper 170's. I say this based on how my body felt (heavy) and how my clothes fit. I have been out of school for about two weeks now and have been juicing. I was trying to lose some weight before graduation. I DID! I was juicing 2-3 times a day and doing 2 a days in the gym! I lost down to 168!

Hey, that's not bad at all! I know I didn't actually weigh myself, but I definitely lost AT LEAST 6 pounds, but I feel more like I lost 10 or more. I feel lighter, my clothes fit better, and altogether, I am just happier! :)

I am going to continue in my weight loss journey now. I am aiming to be at my  target weight by the end of the summer: 150! Yet I am secretly hoping to be at 145! 145 is the maximum weight for my height to be considered "not overweight." A lot of people have been like, you don't need to lose that much. I am NOT trying to be a stick. But I am SICK of going to a doctor and feeling like when he writes the number down, that he is actually writing in big bold letters STILL OVERWEIGHT.

I am ready to change. And have been ready! So here we go! I weighed myself yesterday. My starting weight loss weight is 168! That's 18 pounds for my goal!! Lets do this!!

I will keep you updated this summer on my progress.

If you have any juicing stories, and would like to share e-mail me! You can even be a guest speaker!

SUBSCRIBE!

Love,

Rebecca :)

Excuses Excuses

Dear Readers,

I must apologize for not writing in so long. My life has been crazy with student teaching and being sick. I am FINALLY feeling much better!!

I don't have much to report on the weight loss front. However, I can tell you, that through juicing, I lost 11 pounds, and when I stopped juicing constantly, because of money issues, adding one juice a day in, has helped me maintain my 11 pounds.

Because of my internship, I am not able to walk around drinking juice all day. I make no money doing this and I can't carry a juicer with me. Therefore, as of this morning, I have decided to combine my original weight loss program, that brought me from 200 pounds to 165 pounds, Advocare, and add some juicing with it.

I am going to order my 24 Day Challenge sometime today (once I remember my user id on the website.) I know these two weight loss ideas work, so what will happen if I combine them? I am hoping for a massive change!!

I will keep you posted as the journey begins!

I only have 5 more weeks until graduation!! So I will be writing more, I hope!

Thanks for all your love and support,

Becca

Juicing and How It Works

My friends,

It is my joy to write to you and to continue sharing my experiences with you. I have been juicing now for almost three weeks. Not straight, and I wish I could tell you I stick to it gun ho, but I haven't.

I will tell you I believe in this!!

This is how I started, and how I continue. I began with taking a 10 day cleanse. I lost 10 pounds. I juiced and ate my vegetables and fruits. This is a great way to start! I actually encourage you to start with eating and juicing. This will get tough. The first two days, you will be strong. You will want to continue and fight. By day three, four, and five, life will get tough. You will want all of your favorite foods!! That's when you need to find a healthy food that you love eating. For me, it's guacamole. Fresh guacamole is good for you, its super tasting, and filling!! It just must be ALL fresh fruits and veggies.

Your body will grow to love these foods. This will be all you want eventually. It will take time though. I can honestly say, I don't crave foods the way I used to.

I will tell you where I fail. I recently went to a party where the food consisted of everything I was not supposed to eat. In fact, there was only one thing I could eat there. What do you think I did? I cheated. I hated myself. And then, it became like starting over. I started having cravings because I allowed myself to get pulled into the sweety richness fake unhealthy foods offer.

Don't cave!! Be tougher than me!! KEEP GOING!!

Because I was bad, I decided to do Juice Fasting when possible. Right now, it's this weekend. It's the only time I am home all day to do it.

I'll let you know how two day fasting goes!!

Good luck all!!

E-mail me with questions, and subscribe to my blog!!!

Happy Healthy Living,

Becca

Magic Weight Loss

Dear Readers,

Remember back when I did the Military Diet, and it almost seems like a magic way of losing weight?? Well, unfortunately, I am here to tell you, it's not magic. The diet is supposed to change the chemicals in your body and make you lose weight fast, although, if you will notice, most people can't keep it off. I believe a bunch of people are confused, as I was. Look at what you are eating, grains/bread, meat, even fruits. But you are lacking in the vegetables. Unless you make grains and meat fresh yourself, you are more than likely not thinking about how those foods were processed. Even corn. Think about it, corn is a very common food, but do you know where it came from? Corn originated from a Mexican grass called teosinte.

This is what "corn" looked like before going through mutation, caused by humans!

I hate to tell you bad news, but what you are putting in your body, is damaging your body. I encourage you to check out my post "It's not just what you're eating, It's also what's eating you." 

The Magic Solution

All you have to do, to allow your body to heal itself is, cleanse. For some of you, that may mean a 30-60 day cleanse. For others, it may only be 10 days. Even, for those of you who need 30 days, but would struggle completing 30 days, start short. Go for a 10 day cleanse, take a break and then continue!! That's what my mother and I are trying to do!

We are both starting with the 10 day cleanse! My mother has the biggest success of the two of us. She has been on this cleanse for four days, and is already down seven pounds!!! She has more energy than she has ever had before, and to me, she simply seems happier!!! This is great news for all of us!!

Congratulations to my mother for keeping to this and do so well on it!!!

I am on day five, and I am down six pounds!! Of course I didn't weigh at the beginning, so I could even be down more than that!

If you decide juicing might be for you, first, visit my post "it's not just what you're eating, it's also what's eating you," to learn about an awesome documentary that can point you in the right direction!! Also, if you need some guidance on how and what to start juicing, feel free to send me an e-mail!

Happy Healthy Living,

Cleanse Your Body Cleanse You Mind

Dear Readers,
Sorry  I have not posted this week. I began student teaching, and my life has been consumed with teacher's meetings and such. However, I do have some awesome news to share.

After watching the movie, "Hungry For Change," I ordered my first juicer. YAY!

I began a ten day cleanse three days ago! So far, I have lost 4 pounds. The first two days of eating nothing but fresh fruits and vegetables  I felt amazing!! Nevertheless, as many people have told me, DAY THREE IS ONE OF THE HARDEST. All day today I have just been craving anything and everything, but I am sticking to it!!!

I do love this "diet," NO IT'S NOT A DIET, this LIFESTYLE! The juice really wakes me up and motivates me! Aside from today, I have had more energy, in fact, I have been skipping coffee at 4:00 in the morning...tough time to wake up. I did make coffee just to smell it yesterday morning.

I am going to continue posting about this new lifestyle as often as I can. I will also give you my recipes and tell you whether they are actually good or not.

Here are a few pictures from the past week of shopping for the food and the juice :)

First Shopping Trip

First Juice: Green Lemonade

This recipe calls for 1 lemon, 2 sticks of parsnip, and a TON of broccoli. Juice a handful or two of broccoli first, and then add enough to make a whole cup of juice! :) And, I got this juice from blendhappy.com

My First Concoction 

Half a cucumber, 1 lemon, a small bunch of parsley and cilantro, lots of spinach, and a handful of spring mix.

This one isn't FANTASTIC, but it is good. I LOVE LEMON in my juice :)

V8 style Fusion

three carrots, two big tomatoes, half a cucumber, ginger, and one green apple

I really enjoyed this one; however, the carrot has a very distinct taste. Go easier on them than I did, maybe one or two carrots tops.

The Gross Machine

Cayenne, spring mix, cucumber, lemon, ginger and aloe Vera. Not exactly tasty...but it supposedly opens the blood stream but I know the aloe is great for cleansing. So down the hatch :) 

I hope you have enjoyed a few of the juices I have done, or at least reading on it. As weekends approach, I will do my best to continue posting juices, and facts on what and why certain things are good for you!!

Good luck!!

Happy Healthy Living

<3

"It's Not Just What You're Eating, But Also What's Eating You"

"It's not your fault, this is how we are as mammals...you are programmed to put on fat whenever there is food available..."

Overview

Since early high school, I have been dieting. I have longed for a way to change my body. I have striven to lose weight, be skinny, look pretty, be confident, be active, be happy and more. I thought that in order to fix my body to make it what I want, I had to "deprive it." I had to take away the ice cream, chocolate, the beef, the calories, everything had to go. My whole view changed in about an hour and a half.

My boyfriend Wes loves watching documentaries. I on the other hand, hate them. On the other hand, I love that HE loves them. He has so much knowledge and information in his head, and I can learn from him. He was flipping through the documentaries on Netflix and pointed out "Hungry for Change." I was captured by the title, and I would never admit I was interested in a documentary to him, although now he will know. He was in town spending time with me for three weeks. The day he left, I was incredibly sad. I thought I have to get busy, to take my mind off of being without him. I went to the library and checked out three books on weight loss, but if you know me, you know I am not much of a reader. I came home, and I logged onto Netflix, and said, "Well, I just start with a documentary."

If you haven't watched this movie, DO IT  NOW! In order to truly lose weight, we are going to have to understand our bodies. At the end of this blog, I will post links to help you find out more.

I hate to begin to describe this movie to you; because, the awesomeness of this movie, the science, the understand, and the realization of what is really going on, I cannot explain! However, I am going to sum up a few of my favorite points, quotes, and what I am have decided to do in my life.

"Hungry For Change"

These are just a few thoughts I have picked from the movie "Hungry For Change." To understand the science behind your body, you need to watch this movie.

On my blog, on the journey tab, you will see my story. This is a brief overview of my life. After watching "Hungry For Change," I realize, "obesity is not a problem, it's a solution." Therefore, when you are stressed, you gain weight. Even if you are eating healthy and exercising, your body will still gain weight! I cannot explain to you all of the science, but please watch the movie to find out more! Weight gain starts over a significant event in your life. For me, it was my parents divorce. Ever since then, I have battled my weight. My body realized I was stressed, and hurting, so it did what normal bodies do in times of stress, produce fat to protect the body.

Foods are made to be addictive. The food companies want to keep you coming back for more. "It's not your fault. We as mammals are made to eat when there is food around." We are a nation that is "over fed, but starving to death." We are eating, but we aren't eating the foods that our bodies need. Thanks to the food companies making food addictive, it becomes much harder to let go. The key is, don't deprive yourself. Start slow. Add in foods you need to stay healthy, your body will not reject this. After some time, this will be what your body craves.

Our ancestors lived off of clean and fresh foods. We need to go back to eating our vegetables. "Juicing is easy to absorb, and its fast...You can jazz up juices to taste divine." I cannot tell you how amazing juicing is yet because I haven't done it. WATCH THE MOVIE!!! YOU WILL UNDERSTAND!!! AFTER WATCHING THE MOVIE, I JUST BOUGHT MY FIRST JUICER. (This movie will share stories of life saving juicing!)

There are many more tips on this movie. Tips for cleansing periods and visualizations. As I enter my new life of juicing, I will continue sharing tips and hints that I first learned in the movie, and how they are applying to my life!

Here are the links to finding out more about "Hungry For Change:"
Facebook:    https://www.facebook.com/hungryforchangefilm?fref=ts
The Website:   http://www.hungryforchange.tv/
Hungry for Change Part 1:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-WWp9wlvwU&list=UUrrixaOr-bEIxIP_J1UUnsg&index=5
Netflix: You can also find this movie on netflix under documentaries!

I have done what feels like a thousand diets, and I now understand WHY THEY DIDN'T WORK. Please watch this movie! It's time to live a better life!

A Lot of Catching Up

Hey guys,
I have a lot of catching up to do with the blog.

For starters, the group, three day military diet. Wes lost three pounds. Hey, three pounds is still three pounds. I do have lots of comments about the diet and dieting all together, but that will be a post in itself in just a day or so. Come back on Tuesday evening and it will be up! I may even get lucky and have it up tomorrow evening.

Next, the polar plunge was awesome! Through family contributions, I was able to raise 15 dollars over my goal. I also have to tell you, I did not go all the way in and record it. On Tuesday of last week, I went to a buffet with my grandmother for her birthday. This blog is about healthy living, and buffets are bad for two reasons, and probably more. 1) They are simply unhealthy, and they make you think you can eat and eat and eat. 2) Buffets are dangerous to eat at for food poisoning. Think about it. They are making lots of food all at once, carelessness becomes easier with increased quantity. Also, as with most restaurants  you don't know who is cooking your food. Therefore, is the cook sick? Did they wash their hands? Are the utensils they or even you are using clean? I could go on with the questions, but I won't.
Well, thanks to this buffet, I became, what felt like, deathly sick for 24 hours. My poor boyfriend sat there taking care of me, and then 12 hours later he got it. (now you maybe thinking, that doesn't sound like you got it from the buffet, but, if I explained the timing of my sickness and such, just trust me, it was from the restaurant.) If you have ever had a bug of any type, you know you are still achy and aren't back to normal for at least three to four days.
And today is my first day of feeling pretty much normal.

I will post links of pictures and such later when people post them.

Well, I'll talk to you soon, and stay away from buffets!

Love,
Becca

Group Three Day Diet Update (on day 2)

Hey guys,

I just wanted to send you an update on how the diet is going. During Christmas, I have to admit, I had little self control. Now, I am paying for it. The three day diet is really making me realize how  you need to stay strong, even over a holiday otherwise, there will be repercussions.

My sister, Wes, and I are all on day 2. Man it is so hard right now! Yesterday wasn't too bad. The ice cream makes up for all of the dieting, and the gym helps you forget about your hunger.

I have added lemon juice to my water. I know this diet is all about the chemicals, so hopefully this doesn't mess me up. I have heard that lemon water increases metabolism and increases weight loss, so hopefully that will be true. But I also know it helps curve hunger. There fore I have been drinking lots of it, because I am so hungry.

If you are doing this diet as well, we would love to hear from you! Send me a comment or an e-mail.

Polar Plunge Myrtle Beach SC

Hey Guys,

I want to tell you a little about an upcoming event in my life. The Polar Plunge.
The Special Olympics is an amazing opportunity for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Each year there is a fundraising event called The Polar Plunge to support the Special Olympics.

On my fundraising website, I have a little blurb about why I participate in this event. But for my awesome readers, I want you to think about why you should participate in this event, or events like this. Think about your life. Think about your family, your friends, your health. Think about how blessed you have been, and maybe even are right now. Not all people are as blessed. They have a much more difficult time in life because they are a little bit different. There is absolutely nothing wrong with being different. We make others conform to our world because we believe in being normal. That isn't right  or fair. Think of it this way. If you lost your legs and you went to stay at an old hotel. Everyone you know is staying here. It's like a big family reunion. They could have had the choice to stay at this hotel that only has stairs, or they could have chose to stay somewhere else, a motel that is one story, someone's house, or even, they could help you up the stairs. But they didn't do that. You are still an amazing person, even though your legs are gone. But your family likes people who are normal. How would you feel in this situation? To me, it would hurt. To have to act "normal" because everyone else is "normal," that just isn't fair.

The Special Olympics is a chance for us to accommodate the needs of others. No one has to conform here. It's about giving a chance to those who didn't seem to  have a chance or opportunity before.

I hope you will join me in supporting the cause. Below are links to where you can find out more, or donate.

If I exceed my goal, I will even record the running into the water and being frozen and running  back out.

Links:
Special Olympics: http://www.specialolympics.org/default.aspx
SC Polar Plunge: http://www.polarplungesc.com/2013/Home.html
My fundraising Page: https://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/BeccaRhodes/freezin-for-a-reason

Time for the Three Day Diet Again! Can't Wait!

Hey guys,
Remember I mentioned my boyfriend and I would be starting the diet together. Well, we are starting tomorrow, along with my little sister.
We have just gotten back from a trip to the mountains with the family. WOW, the family sure does know how to keep you off a diet ;) but I guess most of our families are that way!

I hope you were a lot stronger over the holidays than my boyfriend and I were.

But it is a new year! It is time for new resolutions, new actions, and new changes! (Happy New Year, and Merry Christmas by the way)

I am so excited to start this journey with three people that I really care about. Time to keep each other accountable, and do our best.

My boyfriend will be a guest speaker on this diet. He will share his opinion and experiences on how this diet worked for him.

If you are starting this diet, good luck!
I would love to hear from you, feel free to post in the comments, send me an e-mail, or add me on google plus account!

E-mail: beccasmiles2u@gmail.com
Google Plus Link: (idk if this link works) https://plus.google.com/u/0/

Good luck

PS. Here are a couple of pictures from our trip to the mountains.

Guest Speaker: Three Day Military Diet

Hey guys, I e-mailed a friend of mine who took the challenge a few days after me. I asked her to be a guest speaker on the blog. This is what she wrote back to me:

"I finished the three day diet yesterday and lost 8 pounds. I did substitutions for some things, especially cottage cheese...yuck! Other than that I stuck to it, worked out and it really does work. I'm on the four day break till Tuesday night and then I'll begin it again on Wednesday morning."

These are some amazing results!!! I am hoping my friend will keep me in the loop and we can continue to watch these great results!

If you have any results from your journey that you would like to share, leave me a comment saying so and I will send you my e-mail address.

Thanks for reading! 

:) Good luck on your Journey!