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Let’s get to the pics first! Scroll through to see how far she’s come.

Lookin’ good, girl!

Hannah recently returned from frolicking in MEXICO in that two-piece! Here’s what she shared about her progress before she left for her trip…

Monday, Dec 26th 2011: The front view is my favorite! I gaze at it each morning while I’m getting ready. It is just what I wanted. The side view shows the swelling I’ve been telling you about. You can see how it protrudes. I can “suck it in” a little. I know that getting back to running, Shaun T, and ab exercises will help to fix that. I’ll be whining to the doctor about the swelling on Wednesday. My tummy is hard! When I make people touch it, I’ve had comments like “that feels like a pregnant belly”. I’m sure I wasn’t mentally prepared for this swelling. I will report later on the doctor’s observations. I’m wearing one of the swimsuits I bought for my upcoming trip to Mexico. I’m very, very pleased with how it fits and looks.

Monday, Jan 2nd 2012 (Day 41): I’m already packed (for Mexico)! I went to the doctor Wednesday. She released me for all exercise. Then I said, “Abs too?” And she said, “Not yet… Listen to your body. You won’t want to do abs.” She’s right. Ab exercises don’t hurt but it feels like there’s a blank spot there and I have no strength. For instance, if I’m laying flat on my back (like in the bad, bad tanning bed) it is hard to get up! So I’ll ease into that. Then I showed her some Insanity exercises and she said “Listen to your body. Do what feels comfortable”. But I can run on the treadmill!!! The day before my surgery I did 3.5 miles in 40:07. Today I walked 2 and jogged 2 minutes. I did 2.96 miles in 40:00. I feel good about that. I should quit complaining about the swelling. It is getting better every day. Plus I am so pleased to gaze upon my tummy every day. I stand there in my bra and panties fixing my hair and just admire and smile. Oh and one more thing. I still weigh 138. With reduced activity and the holidays, I feel like that is an accomplishment, too.

I can’t tell you how happy I am for Hannah. We can expect at least one more update on her progress at around 12 weeks post-surgery (the official finish line for healing). If you’re new to Hannah’s journey, catch up on her pre-surgery and day 5 and day 18 updates.

Well go on then. Rate your hawtness. But it’s NOT determined by your current size or weight.

Your Hawtness Level is a direct reflection of what you’re doing (or not doing) right now to get where you wanna be with your fitness goals. So how hawt are you?

5 Levels of Hawtness

Level Zero: You ain’t doing shit and you know it. Days turn into months without a fitness regimen, including broken promises to yourself to get started. Not so hawt.

Level 1: You’re tired of living like this. You recognize that change must happen now. You’re ready to really do something about it. You’re serious this time and willing to do whatever it takes. Genuine commitment has set in! [insert epic music here, like the Rocky theme or something]

Level 2: Ugh. Change is difficult and old habits die hard, but you’re pushing through the rough spots. Quitting is NOT an option this time. Many do-overs are still required, but every mess up, slip up or misstep you experience is practice at getting it right. You can’t be held back.

Level 3: You’re moving everyday and eating right with an acceptable amount of greedy indulgence on the side. It’s happening. You’re doing it! You feel good and you’re starting to see the emergence of solid results.

Level 4: You’ve made excellent weight loss progress, but have you honestly challenged yourself OUTSIDE of your comfort zone? You could go into maintenance mode right now and be glad about it, but to achieve something even greater (like sexy glutes or bad ass biceps), you’re not totally there yet. A push is required: Greater commitment. More self evaluation and fine-tuning. More sweat. Yet lots of peeps aren’t interested in pushing, so they stop here at Level 4. But others (maybe YOU?) begin to ask yourself questions like, “Is this workout too easy?” And, “How can I take it to the next level?”

Level 5: Beast mode! You get out of it what you put into it. Your fitness is no longer cruising on autopilot with average results. You are on your way to fully reclaiming your body and health, or achieving the body you never had but always wanted. Level 5 Hawtness is where it’s at. It’s hardcore badassness in action — a serious investment of time and effort, and a bold, relentless vision that gets up everyday and makes it count.

I’ve personally experienced Levels 0-4, and now thoroughly enjoy my Level 5 fitness journey. What Level are you basking in right now and where do you see yourself headed? Oh, and if you feel hopelessly stuck at any Level (escpecially Zero), just shoot me an email me. We need to talk.

Ps: Today is my wedding anniversary. Bow-chicka-bow-bow!

[photo credit]

This the comment I left on Workout Nirvana’s blog post about Strong, Sexy Glutes:

Yes, indeed. There is a plump booty available for the plump-less; a sexy booty to be had for anyone willing to grab it. Workout Nirvana’s post was right on time, as I had just finished working my ass muscles that very same morning.

For all of you cardio queens out there, do NOT neglect your strength training. No body transformation is complete without it.

My favorite go-to, ass-enhancing exercises are:

• Squats
• Deadlifts
• Stairwell climbing (and step-ups on a bench)
• Lunges (love to hate ‘em, actually)
• Old school, 1980′s floor work – the Buns of Steel kind

If you can’t quickly reel off your own favorites, that’s a pretty good indication that you’re not working your ass on the regular like you should be, so go read Workout Nirvana’s post and learn from her bootylicious knowledge.

Although booty shorts are my all time favorite piece of fitness apparel, it’s not that YOU have to love booty shorts, too. But wouldn’t you wanna look good in a pair if you had to?

Yeah. That’s what I thought. Now git on outta here and go achieve the sexy ass you deserve.

It’s time for some photographic accountability! Last month I encouraged YOU to rely more on periodic photo-taking to gauge your fitness progress instead of the numbers on the scale. I previously scheduled myself for a January 2012 progress pic, so here it is! My next picture is scheduled for April 2012. How about you?

Personal Observations On My Progress Pic

1) The more weight I lose in my mid-section, the looser and wrinkly my stomach skin gets (can anyone else relate?). I can literally grab a small handful of skin on the lowest part of my belly. It’s not tight. And thanks to 4 pregnancies, my stomach skin also hangs a bit when I do planks and push-ups. In light of Hannah’s tummy tuck journey, I’m keeping that open as a future possibility for myself as well. I don’t need a tummy tuck to make myself feel beautiful and confident (because I already do) — I just consider the tummy tuck an optional aesthetic enhancement. It’s kind of like plucking that reoccurring woman-whisker outta my chin — that’s a bit of optional enhancement I believe in.

2) I’ve successfully kept the bod tight since the last progress picture in October 2011. This is solid proof that you can enjoy some greediness in your life and still stay on track. Because my ass was surely greedy all month long in December. Holla!

3) Diets in Review just published an article about me: True Weight Loss Story: Mother of 4 Not Too Busy to Lose 30 Pounds. Check it out and learn more about my weight loss journey from the beginning, including my transition into clean eating.

So remember this: Pictures don’t lie. Get on the progress picture bandwagon and make your next “before & after” picture comparison ROCK! There’s just something about knowing you have an upcoming picture that makes you get up off your booty cheeks and work hard. Stay accountable and don’t you dare make excuses.

XOXO,

Josie

I lost of a total of 4-pounds this time around on the Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse. I was expecting a bit more, especially considering my 7-pound loss on the previous Shakeology cleanse, but I also weighed much more during that other cleanse, so it all makes good sense.

But enough about pounds and weight loss. There’s something much more valuable I achieved:

1) I feel like I’m on top of the world! That sluggish feeling is gone. So much energy. So much clarity in my brain (yesss), and I have NOT had the need to be caffeinated in these past 3 days, either. Nope. No coffee required and no withdrawal headaches either.

2) The holiday-eating bloat is gone. I honestly didn’t think I looked that bloated from all the Merry-Christmas-carbohydrates and Hallelujah-excess-pie-slices, but the look of leanness I achieved on the cleanse is proof that, yesss, I was that bloated. Sheesh.

3) It was a discipline-recharge. I love living a disciplined fitness life, because it comes with rewards. But the holiday antics caused me to go lax. Had I not reeled myself in soon, I would’ve been on the track to weight gain and all kinds of future, uncontrolled greediness. The cleanse put me back on track because it requires structure and lots of discipline.

I did it. I am myself again. I’m stepping into 2012 on the right foot.

I won’t be blabbering on about cleansing again for awhile (won’t do another cleanse until right before summer), so just pick up your cleansing packets or reach out to me about Shakeology if/when you need to. My Inbox is always open and ready to hear from you.

Love you much,

Josie

Show that timer who’s boss in this race against the clock. Sweaty fitness funk is guaranteed. There’s some outtakes at the end of the video. Hardy-har-har-har. My legs were burning, yo.

Equipment Needed: 8-10 pound dumbbell. Yoga mat or carpeting.

Your Goal: Push to repeat the circuit as many times as you can in 12-minutes with little to no breaks in between each exercise, if possible. The exercises are simple, but get really intense when you’re racing against the clock.

3 Exercises in the Circuit: 1) wide squats with alternating dumbbell pass-throughs, 2) commando push-ups, 3) reverse lunges with dumbbell overhead

Circuit Sequence:

1) Wide squats with alternating dumbbell pass-throughs. 20 reps
2) Commando push-ups. 4 reps
3) Reverse lunge (left leg) with dumbbell overhead. 10 reps
4) Commando push-ups. 4 reps
5) Reverse lunge (right leg) with dumbbell overhead. 10 reps
6) Commando push-ups. 4 reps

Remember your goal and challenge yourself to hit this circuit as many times a possible in 12 minutes.

Happy sweating!

Josie

Despite the delicious holiday foodstuffs still lingering in the kitchen, I consider those treats not authorized for access — even those last slices of sweet potato pie ((sigh)).

I’ve had my greedy fill (how ’bout you?), but now it’s over until I come up with the next high quality excuse to chew on cookies and pies. It’s time to get our asses back in gear and end this year on the right stomach foot. Are you with me? What’s your game plan for this week? You gotta have plan.

Yesterday (Dec. 26th) marked Day #1 of my Shakeology 3 Day Cleanse, and it went well. I’m ridding my body of those delectable holiday food-fest toxins, recharging, and doing what needs to be done. booyah!

I’ll post my full cleansing results later this week, but here’s a rundown of my food choices that led to the 2.4 pound loss as of Day #1:

• Breakfast: Chocolate Shakeology (made with a banana)
• Morning Snack: Orange wedges
• Lunch: Large salad with Italian dressing, baked salmon — a very generous portion
• Afternoon Snack: Side salad, apple
• Dinner: Greenberry Shakeology (made with strawberries)
• Evening Snack: Raw sweet potato chips (I just sliced ‘em up) with light sea salt
• Drinks: Lots of water, 4 cups green tea with Stevia

In general, dropping pounds fast during a cleanse is enough to get a suspicious man’s panties in a bunch as he wonders if that’s truly a safe approach, but when you take a look at my nutritious eats on the Shakeology Cleanse, you can see why it’s genius. Calories are kept low (yet in an acceptable zone), and the food choices are nutrient-packed and smart. I can’t quite explain it, but the combination of Shakeology, salads & green tea is some kinda miracle worker for cleansing power. Plus, I’m NOT sacrificing necessary protein (that salmon was delicious).

Let me make it clear that of those 2.4 pounds lost, not all of it was 100% fat. My colon is being cleansed, toxins are being flushed and I’m releasing extra water weight as well. People I know personally, as well as other random cleansers, have reported 7-10 pounds lost by Day#3. I lost 7 pounds during my last cleanse earlier this year. I can’t wait to post my full results on this current cleanse! And by the way, I am in no way sluggish, tired or hungry. I’m keeping it healthy, baby.

Hot Links:

Chocolate Shakeology nutrition label (PDF)

Greenberry Shakeology nutrition label (PDF)

Shakeology 3-Day Cleanse Instructions

But first, here are Hannah’s previous pics: pre-surgery and 5 days post-surgery…

And more recently, Hannah’s day 18 pictures…

Her swelling is reduced and the scar is healing nicely. Get it, girl!

From Hannah:

December 3rd (day 18): My swelling is indeed getting better slowly. At less than 3 weeks, I am pleased with the look of my scar. I thought it would be worse. I have a doctor’s appointment on Wednesday. My main question is exercise. I will not do anything she does not endorse. I’m not gonna screw anything up.

December 7th: Yesterday’s appointment was great. She said I’m healing like a 12-year-old. I can increase my exercise (walking) time, speed and incline. No running, sit-ups, twisting, lifting, etc. We talked about my swelling (which is getting better slowly). She said I could have a lymphatic massage to aid in reducing the swelling… I got a Reiki which is a healing touch sort of massage. Not sure it helped but I am sure I didn’t hurt. My surgeon said “you were meant to have this surgery” and I believe that, too. I have on a skirt today that I couldn’t zip a week ago and it fits better than before surgery. The measurement right above my belly button is 1-inch smaller than before surgery!

I asked Hannah if her new tummy made her feel any sexier. This is what she said:

“I’ve never been the kind of girl to spend much time feeling “sexy”, but I think this may push me in that direction. I am so glad I had it done and I feel so lucky, fortunate and blessed to have had the ability to do it!”

Also read read Hannah’s pre-surgery and day 5 updates. More progress pics to come!