Today Is The Big Day

I’ve been counting down the days. Today, Beachbody is launching their new all access Beachbody on Demand. I’m so excited about this amazing offer. What does that mean for you?

Starting today, Beachbody is offering an all access pass to their workout programs. For one low price, you can stream all of their programs to your computer or iPhone. This includes every program available now and all the programs that will be released this year. Even my favorite, Core de Force, that was just released. 

Workouts on Beachbody on Demand:

Core de Force

21 Day Fix

21 Day Fix Extreme

County Heat

22 Minute Hard Corps

Hammer and Chisel

Piyo

P90X

Insanity Max 30

Turbo Fire

Body Beast

Brazil Butt Lift

Cize

T25

Etc.

They also have a challenge pack offer. If you’ve been considering Shakeology, now is the time to try it. It helps me curb my cravings, gives me natural energy, and gives me a boost of superfoods every day. With so many delicious recipes, it’s my favorite meal of the day. 

Each program has been specifically designed with a nutrition plan. All of the information is loaded onto to Beachbody on Demand, so you can follow the program perfectly to get the results you desire. I absolutely love how easy they make it all. With the challenge pack, you also get the portion control containers. 

I will also be doing a yearly challenge group. We will be in a private group where we will do the same workout plan, share our recipes, tips, encourage each other, and keep each other accountable. If you are ready to make changes in your life and feel your absolute best, then comment below or send me a message. I would love to help you. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

Change Your Story, Change Your Life

How many lies do we tell ourselves everyday? In some instances, it is so much easier to believe the lie than it is to go searching for the truth. The lies might make us feel good for the moment, but in the long term they tear us down. Anytime we feel the need to justify our behavior, then we should take a second look at what we are doing and what we are telling ourselves. 

For years, I was bound by the limitations that I had placed on myself. I was always sick, and I felt bad everyday. My mind was convinced that I would never be healthy again. One doctor, however, challenged my limiting beliefs and urged me to try new things.

Once I started exercising regularly, my body started to change. As my body changed, my thoughts also started to change. Instead of viewing exercise as torture, I started seeing it as an outlet for stress and as a way to fight back. With each session, I got stronger and started questioning my negative beliefs. Every time that I challenged myself and went beyond what was conceivable for me, my confidence increased. During my struggles, I found my strength and a life that I didn’t know was possible for me. 

As we enter a new year and start making New Year’s Resolutions, so many will focus on what they have to give up, instead of what they have to gain. When we decide to go on a “diet”, then right away our mind starts listing all of the things that we can’t have. If we only focus on what we lose, then we will never be able to see what we have to gain. 

I absolutely love exercise. It makes me sleep better, makes me more patient, helps me to deal with my pain and stress, gives me confidence, and makes me feel so strong. Yes, it hurts. In life, pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. I learned, while lying in bed for months barely able to move, that exercise is hard, but so is not being able to walk. So I had to choose which one of them was harder for me. When we keep going and focus on how we feel when it’s over, then we are able to increase our endurance. 

It was the same way with my food. Yes, it was hard to give up gluten and all the yummy treats that it is in. But it’s even harder to have daily headaches, joint pain, brain fog, etc. When I stepped out of my comfort zone and tried new foods, I discovered so many wonderful foods that I had overlooked for years. Everything we eat, either harms our body or nurtures it. We get to choose which one we want to consume. 

I don’t know about you, but I hate feeling bad all the time. I would rather eat healthy, exercise and feel great, than eat junk, sit around, and feel horrible all the time. 

So today, I challenge you to choose your hard. What do you want your life to be like? If you are not happy, then you don’t have to stay that way. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

New Year = New You

Now is the time to starting thinking about the new year. In between Christmas and New Year’s Day, I reflect back on my year. I like to remember all the good times and accomplishments, and develop a vision and plan for my new year.

Through out the years, I have learned to work on all areas of my life. Everything that is important to me, goes on my list. My health, my relationships, business, and finances. Once I create my vision, then I’m able to create a plan to help me get there. 

My health is always at the top of my list. If you’ve ever been really sick, then you understand what I’m talking about. Our health truly impacts every area of our life. I break it down into the different areas; spiritual health, physical health, and mental health. In order to feel my best, I have to work on all three areas. 

For my spiritual health, I go to church, read my Bible, and pray. I also try to be obedient to my Lord and follow His instructions. I purposely make the time to talk with my Lord each day. As my relationship with Him grows, so does my strength, faith, courage, etc. 

For my physical health, I workout daily and eat as many whole foods as possible. I notice how certain foods, like sugar, make me feel and I try to stay away from the ones that make me feel bad. The better I eat, the better I feel. God gave us tons of foods to enjoy. It the ones that man created in a laboratory that we need to avoid. 

My mental health is also very important to me. I’ve battled depression many times. It is so hard to overcome. Exercise helps me with this so much. The endorphins released during and after exercise helps me to not only feel better immediately, but it helps me to put certain situations into perspective. I also read encouraging books and meditate. 

Taking control of my own health was one of the greatest things that I have ever done for myself. Give yourself that gift for the upcoming year. I promise you will never regret changing your life for the better. 

As a Beachbody Coach, I’d love to help you. We have a new opportunity coming up at end of December that will give you the tools you need to improve your health . This has never been offered before and it’s amazing. For one low price, you can get access to all the workout programs for an entire year. Comment for more details. 

Love and blessings,

Candida

P.S. Have you downloaded my free app, “Words of Encouragement” yet?

Promote What You Love

Far too many times, I’ve heard the expression, shameless self-promotion. When I first started writing, I joined a writer’s group and this was a term that was often used when referring to promoting one’s own writing or self. For whatever reason, it crawled inside of me and spread like poison. Now every time that I share my blog, share about my fitness business, or share my books, I feel this sense of guilt. 

This guilt is holding me back. It makes me feel as if by sharing my writing, or my fitness journey that I am bragging on myself. But that is the story the devil has weaved. He wants me to be silent about the things which are important to me. Of course, he wants me to promote my complaints and negative opinions. Anything that could help someone else, however, comes with feelings of fear and uncertainty. 

God gives us stories and life experiences to share. He wants us to help each other. When we have the solution to someone else’s problem, then it would be so selfish of us not to share it. If our story would give someone drowning in depression hope, then why would we not share it with them? If we have the tools to help someone lose weight and feel better, then why would we not offer it to them? This is the realization that I had recently. And it changed the story that I’ve been telling myself for years. 

Sharing my story and promoting my passion is my gift. The true shame would be for me to bury my talent, and not use it to help others. I love writing, talking about God, exercising, drinking Shakeology, and eating healthy foods. All the things that I talk about make a difference in my life, and that is why I want to share them with you. 

Love and blessings, 

Candida

How to Stop Emotional Eating

Do you reach for food when you are upset? More specifically, do you reach for comfort food?Emotional eating is very common. When we are upset about something, it is only natural for us to seek pleasure. We want the pain to stop, so we try to find a way to feel better immediately. This usually has us eating large of amounts of junk food. For a few moments, the sugar or high fat snack gives us pleasure, so we indulge and eat way more than we planned. Because comfort food has nothing to do with being hungry. 

I am guilty of this as well. Potato chips are my comfort food. If I’m having a bad day, I will usually talk myself into a serving or three. Because in my painful state I believe that I deserve to eat potato chips. While it may make me feel better for a short period of time, the long term effects of this behavior will only bring more pain into my life. When I overindulge in too much junk food, my body responds with inflammation. My digestive system gets upset and I have horrible bouts of nausea. This brings more pain into my life, so I go searching for more comfort. It’s a horrible, self-destructing cycle.

A few years ago, when my body had had enough and decided to rebel on me, I was forced to make some changes. My diet was one of the first things the doctor wanted me to look at. He asked me to eliminate processed food, gluten, and then dairy. The first 30 days was so hard! I realized that I had emotional attachments to food. It made me cry to not eat doughnuts and fast food. I remember crying in the grocery store and thinking that I could not do it. But the alternative to not doing it was remaining sick. So I gave myself a pep talk and worked on changing my thoughts about food. 

I soon realized that willpower would help me to avoid gluten and processed foods for a few days or weeks, but it would not work long term. In order to make a lasting change, I knew that I needed to change my mind-set. That’s when I began educating myself on ingredients and taking a hard look at the nutrition of my food. What I discovered both terrified and delighted me. Seeing all the harmful chemicals in my favorite foods helped me to change my thoughts about it. It no longer sounded appealing to me. Before every bite I asked myself one question, “Is this harmful or helpful to me?” This has helped me to reach for more whole foods that actually heal my body instead of hurting it. 

Now if I’m having a bad day, I have a whole list of things that provide me comfort that has nothing to do with food. 

1. Walk. Walking and talking to my Lord always helps me. 
2. Bath. Soaking in Epsom salt and essential oils is so relaxing. 
3. Prayer. When I take my troubles to the Lord, He always helps me. 
4. Read. Reading the Bible or another book of encouragement helps me. 
5. Breathe. Deep breathing calms me. 
6. Write. Getting my feelings out and on paper helps me to see my situation with a different perspective.
7. Watch a sunrise or sunset. Sitting in nature and appreciating God’s beauty helps me.
8. Sing. Singing comforting hymns helps me to get my mind back to where it needs to be.
9. Talk. Sometimes talking to a friend about our problems helps us to see if differently.
10. Run or exercise. Cardio helps me to release pain killing endorphins. 

The next time you find yourself reaching for some comfort foods, try one of the things on my list and see if it helps you as well. Then work on making your own list. 

When we change our thoughts, we are able to change our life. 

Have a wonderful day!

Candida

Sugar: Is it really harmful to us?

Did you know that sugar is highly addictive? It is also responsible for various health problems. I didn’t really believe that it was dangerous to my health, until I stopped eating it for a while and then reintroduced it. 

When we had our homecoming at church, I allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted. My mom made gluten free chicken and dumplings just for me. I ate those, as well as sweet potato casserole, and hash brown casserole. I topped it all off by eating chocolate cake. Right away, I felt sick from the sugar overload. 

Even though I had just finished eating and was completely full, the craving for more carbs and sugar intensified. And I became so sleepy. So a few hours later, I ate another piece of cake (to make me feel better). At the time, my mouth was really dry and I just felt bad. By the time that I ate the third piece of cake several hours later, I felt sort of high. I was a little dizzy and all I wanted was more sugar. 

The effects the sugar had on me was scary. The next morning, I woke up craving more sugar. It was as if my body was begging for it. Instead of fixing the french toast that my body wanted, I made a chocolate vegan shake from Shakeology and added in peanut butter and banana. By the time that I finished my shake, my sugar cravings were gone and they didn’t reappear. But the whole process concerned me.

From the moment that I took the first bite, I felt as if I was out of control. It was a downhill spiral of being on a sugar high that resulted in me making bad choices. I ate more food in that one day, than I normally eat in several days.

This whole process opened my eyes. The enemy comes at us in many different ways. He wants to make us sick, and will use whatever vices that he can find to derail us. We need to watch and pray that we don’t fall into his traps. Below is several articles that further explain the harmful effects of too much sugar.

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/dangers-of-sugar

http://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/how-sugar-affects-the-body

https://draxe.com/sugar-addiction/

If you'd like to work with me on becoming healthier, send me an email to candidasullivan@yahoo.com. I will help you find a workout program, nutrition plan, and encourage you along the way. 

Have a wonderful day!

Candida

Would You Like to Get Paid to Become Healthier?

Would you like to become healthier, but just haven't taken the time to start yet? No worries. I can help you. Deciding to eat healthier, exercise, and learning to control my mind-set have made a huge difference in my life. And I would love to share what I have learned with you. 

When I first started on my adventure to become healthier, I was overwhelmed. I signed up for the gym, but I had no idea how to work most of the machines. So I spent my time going from each one. While I was usually sore the next day, I wasn’t seeing the results that I wanted, and I started gaining weight. I listened to what other people told me about lifting heavy, and I used the wrong machines for my body type. Instead of slimming my legs like I wanted, I made them even bigger. The whole process frustrated me and made me want to give up. Not to mention, I was spending an hour or two each day working out.

I’m telling you this because I know how frustrating it can be to not know how to get the results you want. And how hard it is to go through the process alone. That’s where I come in. I would love to be your coach.

As a coach, I will help you pick out a workout program, select a flavor of Shakeology, and encourage you. Someone else has already figured it out. They have created an effective workout program, guaranteed to give you amazing results (if you stick with it), and they have made a simple eating plan to help you know what to eat for your body. Shakeology is the golden ticket. It is packed with superfoods. It gives me energy, reduces my cravings, and just generally makes me feel better. 

What if I told you that starting in September, Beachbody will pay you to workout with me? 

They are so sure that you will fall in love with exercise and Shakeology that they have bet on it. Everyone who participates in the HealthBet challenge will receive an even part of the prize money. The minimum amount to be divided evenly is $1 Million dollars, but it is up to $3 Million dollars. All you have to do is follow these three easy steps for four weeks. 

1. Get into an accountability group with a coach.
2. Drink Shakeology 5 times a week and post a picture to the accountability group. 
3. Do a Beachbody workout 3 times a week and log your workouts. 

Most of the workouts are just 30 minutes a day, and you don’t have to go anywhere to do them. I usually workout in my living room, early in the morning, so that I feel better all day.

Now is the time to start taking better care of you. Our health is so precious. I workout because I can, and I love nurturing my body with good things that make me feel better. So easily that gift could be taken from us. 

If you’d like to know more, send me an email: candidasullivan@yahoo.com. We start on Monday, September 5, 2016, and I would love to see you there. Just don’t wait until the last day. Your products will need to be ordered at least 7 days prior, in order to get them in time. 

Have a wonderful day!

Candida

Why You Should Make Yourself a Priority

How often have you tried to drink from an empty cup? We give our time, energy, and love so freely to others, but we often withhold it from ourselves. Where are you on your list of priorities? If we are honest, we will often discover that we don’t even appear on our own list. 

We make time to care for the children, time for our home, but we very seldom ever take a few moments for ourselves. Years ago, I remember being stressed out all the time. I would go to bed exhausted and wake up exhausted. Every part of my day seemed overwhelming. And so many times I prayed to just make it through the day. 

My problem was that I gave all of my energy, time, and love to other people. Every day I continued to give, without ever adding anything back in. I didn’t take time for me. Honestly, I thought taking 30 minutes to exercise, when I was already exhausted, was pointless. I didn’t see how my food would make a difference in how I felt. After all, I wasn’t hungry. Nor did I feed my mind and soul with valuable information.

I got stuck in the survival mode and barely made it through each day. I woke up in just enough time to get ready. My mornings were often rushed and hated. And I wasn’t happy with myself. 

It wasn’t until I decided to make a change in my life, that I found peace. Through it all, I learned to love myself. 

So what did I do?

1. Make the time to exercise. Just a few minutes a day helped me to clear my mind. It boosted my creativity and helped me to deal with my problems. 
2. Change my diet. Junk food has no nutritional value at all. It depletes our energy instead of helping our bodies to supply it. Superfoods, however, do the exact opposite. They fuel our body for peak performance.
3. Read something every day to encourage my soul and feed my mind. Reading scriptures and personal development books helped me to change my mind-set. 
4. Dream. Have personal goals and a plan to achieve them. We all need something to dream about and work towards. 
5. Realize that when I take care of me, I have so much more to give others. When I do all of the above, I’m more patient with my kids, more fun to be around, and have a better outlook on life. 

Decide to make the change today. Don’t put it off another day. Send me an email (candidasullivan@yahoo.com) and I will help you find a workout program that will fit into your life, a nutrition plan to help you feel your absolute best, and books to encourage and inspire you. This is your life, don’t settle for anything less than your dream life. 

Have an amazing day!

Candida 

How to Develop Mental Strength

I always want to quit running at the 1/4 of a mile point. That’s when my left side (hip, pelvis, knee, and foot) starts to hurt, and my mind starts to doubt. And that’s when I have to decide if I am going to run or give up. 

I am not going to lie, sometimes I give up. I don’t always have the right mind-set. Nor do I always have the focus and determination that I need to succeed. So I stop. Feel bad that I quit. And walk away discouraged.

Some days, however, I crush it. Not with my body, but with my heart and my mind. By overcoming challenges, I have discovered the beauty and strength of the heart. When we go beyond our excuses, beyond our heartaches, and even beyond our preconceived limits and just do it, we create a memory of overcoming. So when a similar struggle arises, we are able to go back to previous times of overcoming and gain strength. 

Sometimes I have to talk myself through the whole thing. Below is an example of my negative verses positive self-talk.

Negative voice: My legs are hurting. I can’t run today. I can’t.

Positive voice: Yes, you can! You've done this before. Remember your first race? Relax. Breathe. Your legs are still moving. You can do this. Run another tenth of a mile and then you can decide if you really want to quit. 

Negative voice: Okay. (After the tenth of a mile.) I want to quit. I’m just not feeling it today. This is hard.

Positive voice: Do you really want to quit? Your legs are still moving. Surely you can run another tenth of a mile. You are so close to your goal. You are strong. Don’t give up now. Pray for someone else struggling. You can stop and end your pain, but so many are suffering. Focus on them. Overcoming your challenges is how you develop strength. You can do this. Running is hard, but so is giving up. Choose your hard. 

And so it continues. This is how I train myself for success. When life seems overwhelming and I just want to give up, I search for the right mind-set and coach myself though it. And sometimes I have to stop. Catch my breath. Pray. And then continue on.

It’s okay to modify our workouts. Sometimes I have to stop and walk. But it’s not okay to just give up. Accomplishing our goals is a wonderful feeling. Would you like for me to be your coach? I would love to help you. Leave me a comment or send me an email to candidasullivan@yahoo.com. 

Have a wonderful day!

Candida