Archives for February 2011

~ Get a friend on board.  If they aren’t brave enough to step up and do it with you, at least have them  promise to give you all the support you will need.  Believe me, even with the insane changes you’ll start to see, every two days you will want to QUIT.  And weekends WILL be the worst.

~Take it DAY by DAY!  If I looked too far ahead on the menu or the calendar, I would freak.  

If I stayed on the day I was in, I was fine.

~Take your vitamins and supplements.  I’m BIG on this, and if you need advice on what to take, click here.

In addition to those on that list, I also started taking Mercola’s Krill Oil with Primrose which I love.

{and it doesn’t stink!}

~ Stretch before and after.  

{I used the warmup from her 2008 Dance Cardio}  

And if your shins and knees are rockin’ it in the not so hot way, ice them after your cardio for 20 minutes, and then maybe another 20 minutes before bed!!!

~ Get on Pandora!  

My favorite “station” for Mat Work was Womanizer Kaskade Mix.

And for Dance Cardio I created a station called Novaspace.

~I would suggest starting with 30 reps and when you stop feeling sore from that or it begins to get easy add another 5 reps working up to 40, 50…or more if you have time.

~Alternate the leg and arm you start with each day.  For example, Monday I started with my right leg and right arm, Tuesday I started with the left leg and left arm.  

~ Mix up your cardio.  I have all of Tracy’s dance dvd’s so I go between them during the week.  

If my ankles or knees were feeling a bit ticked, I spent a day or two on the rebounder….but mixing it up HELPS!

{tip for the rebounder if you’ve had kids….get ALL your pee out before jumping.  and even then, pad up.  don’t say i didn’t warn ya.}

~Try to space your meals about 2-3 hours apart to keep your metabolism going.  And it totally helps to do that by splitting your snack in half, having half mid morning and the other half mid afternoon.

~You WILL be super hungry in the beginning, but as your stomach adjusts the hunger will become less and less.  Try to not to up portions until at least the second week when you can trust your hunger more.

In the meantime, drink lots and lots of water.  It will become another food group for sure.

~If you’re apt to gagging at pureed foods such as I, it’s super simple, don’t puree them.  

{i.e. cream of broccoli, the “bloody mary,” and lots of the cleanse recipes}

I didn’t, and I still got GREAT results!

~You may poo a lot in the beginning, not much in the end, and then when you eat processed foods again, get the toilet paper ready.

That’s all that needs to be said about that.

~You WILL be moody.  A lot.  Or every other day at least.  Prepare your husband and kids and buy them lots of presents to make up for it.

~Say goodbye to your boobies.

{unless they’re fake, and in that case, i’m jealous.}

~Have REALISTIC expectations.

I say this now because I didn’t. 

I wanted to have ALL my issues resolved in 30 days….and while there WERE may-jah changes, I still have a ways to go before the “skin pulls back to the muscle” as Tracy likes to say.

Just be patient with yourself, with the process, and know that it TAKES TIME.