I’m interrupting your Bikini Monday for a special reason. But if you are extra faithful to fitting into your bikini this summer despite this post NOT being about the two-piece, please commence to doing some Couch Pilates, toe lifts or elbow aerobics – anything to burn a few calories while you gaze into the pictures, right?

When I first arrived a Fitbloggin it was time for a quick pow-wow with MizFit, NoMoreBacon, ShePosts and Prior Fat Girl (in the background) to discuss for our Hobbyist to Professional panel (read the full transcript here).

My buddy, Jen In Real Life, is a vibrant, energetic ball of fire. I love her.

And here we have the infamous Bacon (featuring pink headband), alongside my crush, Benjamin Teal.

…and here is Ben’s butt.

Then I met Cathe. Holy cow, I was geeked! You will officially be inducted into The Bad Ass Club with her workouts.

I also hung out with Run Wifey Run, Renee J. Ross and Determined To Be Fit (not pictured). Sa-weet!

I luurves me some Alan. And there’s my Fitbloggin roomie, Andrea, in the background!

I spent a lot of time in the Pop Chips lounge. Who can refuse bean bag chairs and a free, endless flow of Pop Chips? Duh! Pictured from left to right are Brandi from Diets in Review, Fit Bottomed Girl, Dubya Wife (she gave me more Ostrich Jerky), Miz Fit and Diet Girl.

There were SO MANY other awesome peeps that I didn’t get to take pics with. Boo. But I’m home now so let’s get back to business. I ate a lot and enjoyed myself, so now I’m back on the grind, workin’ on my fitness. ka-BOOM!

What fitness means to me?

“Strength, confidence, and pie-eating without the guilt.”

I am imperfect and still on my journey, yet so proud of my fitness accomplishments thus far. To hell with all that self-judgmental hogwash! This pic demonstrates how I truly feel about myself.

So now it’s your turn. I want to celebrate and feature YOU! (look at the top, left sidebar)

Whether you are short, tall, chubby, skinny, or somewhere in between; Black, White, Asian, Latino, bilingual or multi-functional. Whatevah! Regardless if you made goal yet or not, if you are on your fitness journey and damn proud of it, AND you’re a reader of this blog, you qualify, baby!

I want your face on my blog!

This is an open call to The People of Yum Yucky for my new weekly feature, but it won’t work without your participation.

Each week on my upper left sidebar, I will feature the stunning image of a Yum Yucky reader like you doing some fabulously fitness-related: squatting, jumping, running, enjoying an all you can eat buffet, weight training, sweating, Yoga-ing, etc., with a short 1-2 sentence quote of what fitness means to you. I will also link back to your blog, Twittah page, or whatever you choose. But I will NOT link to this, so don’t even try it. Grrrrr.

I want peeps ALL shapes and sizes, please!!!

How to be featured? Please follow these exact directions: Email your picture to josie @ yumyucky.com (with no spaces, of course). Include your name, 1-2 sentence quote and desired link back to your page. Please write “open call” in the subject line of your email. First come first serve! The sooner you submit, the sooner you will be featured.

Let’s get it goin’ now!

When a bacon lover like Ryan is forced to guest post, I rolls out the red carpet, yo! So what if that carpet has juice stains and food crumbs and bacon grease on it? Sorry dude. This blog can get a little messy. BYOB (Bring Your Own Bissel) next time you agree to guest post.

“6 Fabulous Fitness Tips for the Money Conscious Hoodrat” by Ryan McBacon Sullivan

Who better to breakdown a cheap way to get fit in the barrio than a 20 something (ok, almost 30) white boy from Utah who grew up in the suburbs?

No one I say.

Maybe I can build some of my cred by telling you about the time I rode shirtless in the back of a 70’s pickup truck we nicknamed the Silver Bullet? Or how about the time I got on the hood of my car and did a booty dance while the Thong Song blasted through my car stereo?

Still no good? Fine.

I’m still writing this damn post.

Whether you like it or not I’m going to give you some great ways to save money while you get fit, because getting a sexy six pack can get expensive in a hurry. My plastic surgeon wanted me to pay him like 40 grand or something like that! Pfft…

1) Steal Check out exercise videos from the Library – It’s true. You might occasionally end up with an exercise video like this one, but I think you’ll be surprised at the number of good quality workout videos you can find at the local book check out place (sorry, my thesaurus is broken). The other great part about that, is that you can rotate videos all the time and keep your workouts fresh and clean.

2) Use the internet for your next workout – There are plenty of sites like Exercise.tv and BodyRock.tv that have huge libraries of workouts that are all free o’ charge. You don’t even have to spike anyone’s tires to get access. (Protip: Even though you don’t have to flatten any tires, you may have to steal your neighbor’s wireless for access).

3) Get to steppin’ - I know it sounds stupid, but walking is free right? So is running (unless you’re one of those crazies who needs a satellite dish to run so they can stay up to date on their own time while they watch themselves on TV) . If you live in a place with lots of hills or even mountains like I do, walking can be exponentially more effective. Not to mention it’s great for your heart, and as Josie likes to call them, your azz muscles. If you’re really feeling the need to get your butt moving, steal something in broad daylight and repeat this exercise.

4) Be a mooch – That’s right, ask around and see who has fitness equipment that you can have or can buy from them for cheap. That’s how I got the treadmill at my house. It sat unused and collecting dust at my parent’s house so one day I stole borrowed it*. The rest is history.

5) Watch your sister’s kids - Have you ever tried to babysit 8 kids at a time? I’ve done Plyometric circuits that didn’t even touch the intensity of trying to put those tiny straws into juice boxes while spreading peanut butter and breaking up death matches caused by arguments over who is going to get the Wii controller next. Seriously, volunteer to babysit. Cheapest way to exercise EVER!

6) Do the nasty! - OK, so calling it “the nasty” doesn’t make it sound all that appealing, but you all know what I’m referring to right? Since I’m a 14 year old trapped in a 30 year old man’s body, I’ll spell it out for you… S – E – X! I guess by saying it’s a money saver I’m making some pretty wild assumptions though, right? I mean, technically it could be a REALLY expensive way to get your cardio in now that I think about it… You’ll have to figure that one out on your own… OK, so number 6 is debatable.

NEW POST TITLE: 5 and a half Fabulous Fitness Tips for the Money Conscious Hoodrat

Enjoy!

*Dear mom and dad, I know the statute of limitations have not expired. This is in no way an admission of guilt. Notice how I lined through the word “stole.” In fact, considering possession is 9/10ths of the law, this post is the final piece of evidence I’ll use to prove the treadmill really is mine. I rest my case.

Josie says: Attention all hoodrats! If you don’t know Ryan yet, you’re missing out big time. Follow in him Twitter @nomorebacon and check out his blog. ka-BOOM!

How can I be talking discouragement while showing off my Mother’s Day swag? I got me a Gymboss Interval Timer (woohaa!) and a dip station (hell yeah!).

Well here’s where the discouragement part barges in: The fat slab remnants on my lower stomach. I’ve had three C-sections, so lowest of my stomach(s) is not going bye-bye without a fight. It wasn’t until I snapped these pics that I noticed that when I do a crunchy move, the slab-remnants bunch up into a roll.

Working my lower abs.

Now I know I’m being really picky about this, so please forgive my bitching. I should be happy, right? I’m 38-years-old and birthed 4 child-spawns. I look okay. What am I complaining about, right?

Workin’ my obliques.

…but the more I looked at the pics, and the more I gazed at my lower stomachs, the most ridiculous (and not true) thoughts infiltrated my brain membranes to discourage me. Crazy thoughts, like:

• You can’t do this.
• You’re working hard, but it’s still gonna take you forever.
• You don’t look as good as you thought.
• You haven’t really made any good progress.
• Just quit now.
• You’re not really gonna post these pics, are you?

Oh my gawsh. The voices in my brain membrane were talking some ridiculous lies. Yes, even The Yum Yucky can get a little discouraged sometimes.

Reverse push ups in action.

But I shook it off and gave myself some credit for all my hard work. I am bad azz, doing some kick azz workouts right now for the Bikini Body Challenge.  I’m keeping it strong with 30-40 minutes of Plyometrics and other bodyweight exercises, followed by a 1-2 mile interval run. I’m following this system 5 days per week.

There’s no way I can keep doing this hardcore stuff without continued progress.

But please ignore this move right here. My arms got tired on the 4th reverse push up. Daggone-it, those things are hard!

If you’re feeling discouraged, take time to assess whether those thoughts you’re thinking are really true (which they’re not). We’re only human. Discouragement happens. But you gotta give it a body slam and keep going.

Let’s all keep going, okay?

The “ghetto” part is valid because, although you may have seen this before, this recipe is specialized to serve people who are too broke to do something fancy, too cheap to care, or too greedy to be needing any real cake.

I eat Ghetto Honey Cakes as a late night snack about twice per month. If you desire an easy dessert that you can make in 90 seconds flat, yet STILL enjoy healthy nutrition, you gotta go with the Honey Cakes.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 slices whole grain bread
• 1 teaspoon I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter
  
• 2 teaspoons local honey (more or less, you decide)

DIRECTIONS

• Toast bread only slightly to very light brown.
• Sparingly smather both slices with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter. (I like their new Whipped & Creamy)
• Smather honey on one slice, then place 2nd slice on top (both buttery sides facing up).
• Smather 2nd slice of bread with honey. Be messy about it. Let the honey drip and fall off the sides of the bread onto the plate.
• Grab a fork to cut into it and eat like a piece of cake.

“BROKE-AZZ COLLEGE STUDENT” PARTY INSTRUCTIONS

• Follow directions above, but keep stacking up the honey ‘n butter-smathered pieces to 6-8 slices high. Then invite your friends and make it a party cake.

If you check out the profile for honey on the World Healthiest Foods website (WHfoods.com), you’ll see that honey has both antiviral and antimicrobial properties. Honey also contains a handful of trace minerals, so I don’t wanna hear you whine about how you messed up your healthy day by indulging in this treat. It’s delectable, yet not damaging to your diet when gnawed in moderation.

For best results and to enhance the ghetto experience, please install Bling Teeth prior to chewing on Honey Cakes.