Cheat Days

So every weekend I set aside one day as my cheat day. I like to pick Saturdays because we are generally out doing errands and have to stop off to get lunch/dinner somewhere with the kids. Lately though we have been ordering take out because taking four kids (2 newborns) into a restaurant is just not a good time. So because of this I wanted to offer a few tips to help those of you that feel like you just never do well dieting and that depriving yourself of the foods you love will just have you binging and gaining all your weight back.
What I do is I schedule my cheat day. It is a day that I can look forward to when working out and eating right and it feels like a little reward for myself. I also only pick one meal for my cheat. I do not eat poorly all day long. Eventually when you start eating clean those foods that you love now (french fries, hamburgers, pizza, etc) will not taste as good because your stomach will be used to the good food and thus you may feel poorly after you eat anything greasy or fried.
This happened to me after Disney on Ice just this week. We went to the show on Wednesday and it was amazing. They did such a great job, but we neglected to eat prior and so we decided to buy something at the show. The typical foods were served chicken tenders, hamburgers, cheesesteaks, etc. There was nothing of nutritional value in this whole show. So I purchased a hamburger. I immediately regretted my decision about 3 bites in. My stomach felt awful. I couldn't even finish it. So in essence I realized that my new eating habits were doing something right and that these old foods that I loved so much were not loving me in return. It was very easy to not finish the burger and french fries that normally I would engulf.
So my hope for you is that if you do decide to give yourself a cheat day you may find that the things you are loving may not be your favorite food for long and that is a very good thing!

Finding Motivation

Some days are truly easier than others. Finding the motivation to workout daily can be the biggest hurdle that anyone needs to overcome. I know that I struggle with it some weeks. Particularly this week. I don't know why, maybe it's the weather, maybe it's just I'm not in the mood, whatever it is I remind myself of one very important quote: It's not about how you start, it's about how you finish." So for me when I feel like I am just going to have an "off" day I remind myself of that goal that I set for myself and I realize that taking an "off" day is one day further I am away from reaching that goal. Another great tool to use to help get motivated is finding a buddy. I know that if I didn't have my friend texting me that she finished a workout I may not get as pumped as I do to workout. The little check ins to see how we did or which workout we were going to do that day really makes me feel accountable. If you can find that one person in your life that you can do this with it makes the journey easier and more doable. Post a quote that motivates you or share what ways you motivate yourself.

How to Defeat Late Night Cravings

So every night for the past 10 months I treated myself to dessert. I love dessert it is the best thing that has ever happened to food, but it is the worst thing for my body. So as I am sitting here typing this I would love to go upstairs and snack on some Hershey Kisses or whatever else we have in the pantry that has even the smallest hint of sugar, but I am not giving in. Do any of you have these vices? How do you combat it? I find that distracting myself is probably my best bet, I have never been able to have just a few bites and be ok especially if it is a giant piece of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory. When it comes to the need it, gotta have it I have always been a bit of an obsessive person. When I was younger and wanted something from the store like new shoes or a new top I would think about it constantly until I bought it. Sometimes I am that way with my cravings and I am hoping that by cutting sugar out of my diet it will eliminate those types of wants. However, we are creatures of habit and my habit has been a long steady 10 months of dessert each night. So back to how to deal with those cravings and using distraction as my go to; some things I like to do to distract myself are: finding a game to play with the kids, reading a book/magazine, watching a movie (in our basement away from the kitchen), browsing the internet or working out. The last option has actually been my routine for the past few weeks. I liked to snack right before dinner or right after lunch so I have been planning my workouts around those times. Other things I have tried and work are drinking a large glass of water with lemon. This seems to make me feel full and satisfied. I would love to hear back from any of you with your tips and things that have worked/failed in the past so we can create a list. Hope everyone has a great week!

Why You Don't Take Your Whole Family Grocery Shopping

So today I am going to embark to the grocery store. I will take my list with me with the essentials and I am planning on sticking with it. WISHFUL THINKING..... So I get to the grocery store and I am immediately stricken with the "oh great I forgot my list"Has this ever happened to you? I know I want to get some veggies and fruits, but now my mind is drawing a blank and I am being pulled in 10 directions by my kids, husband and the guy who is peddling cheese at the dairy counter. After walking around aimlessly for 10 minutes I am immediately in the zone getting my apples, bananas, onions, carrots, etc. I got this I am thinking to myself. 45 minutes later, 2 tantrums, 1 lost husband and $130 grocery bill we are on our way. I am about 5 minutes from home when I remember the list and of course the essential cleaning items (detergent, bathroom cleaner, light bulbs) forgotten.....well there is always tomorrow, but I'm not going.

Grocery Shopping and all its Glory

I actually used to like grocery shopping. I found it to be relaxing perusing the aisles to see what I could buy and get excited about the snacks and meals I would create. It was up there with a Target shopping trip, but because Target has Starbucks it will always be second place. However, now I find it to be more like mission impossible. Trying to take my clan of children to the grocery store is both insane and stupid. I spend more time putting food back then putting it into my cart. My 2 year old refuses to sit in the basket and when she is not in the cart she is running around like a lunatic. I swear we do get out, but the way she acts is like she has just been released from prison. This results in me needing to get her and then the back is thrown out and the ear piercing screams. It is such an enjoyable time. I have resorted to ordering online trying to truck all 4 of my children to the store is not going to happen, at least by myself and so I discovered Peapod. Oh how amazing it is that you can still go aisle by aisle to choose what you want and stay within a reasonable budget. They deliver it right to the door and even bring it into your house and put it on your counters. It is a great service. However, today I must go to the grocery store. There were some items I forgot to add to my list and some cleaning products that I have run out of so alas me and my 4 children will brave the freezing cold to get the necessities. Now before I started back up with my workouts I formed some really bad habits. I was really good about writing out my meals for the week and then shopping according to those budgets, but the funny thing about pregnancy those meals never seemed to satisfy my craving for oreos dipped in peanut butter, go figure. So I began aimlessly buying whatever looked good and believe me everything looked good. Frozen steaks to make cheesesteaks, yep toss them in there, oreos, oh I can add that to my sundae, Chips Ahoy, blocks of cheese to shred over tostitos (yum, nachos) I could go on. Soon our grocery bills were enormous much like my body at this point so we finally started meal planning again. Now that I am fully committed to my workouts I have really stayed on track with the meals, no sugar (as you can read I love my sweets) and eating from the nutrition guides. I use the 21 Day Fix containers so that helps me keep my portions controlled.

And Here I go again on my own....well not exactly

Now I may sound crazy but it only took me a few weeks to really feel like myself again. I was just very eager to get back to feeling like my old self. It started with nutrition because I was breast feeding and then I was getting antsy to do things around the house. By about 6 weeks post partum I was ready to start working out again. I did small things but was eager to get into a Beachbody program. A friend of ours had the 21 Day Fix and was lending it to me and I was beginning to work out doing that and then the wonderful holidays came. I realized that my bad habits that I had for the last year were harder to break than I imagined. As a Christmas gift I received Insanity Max30 and that is where I felt like I was truly getting back to being myself and really ready to commit to being healthy for myself and my family. 

Here are my before pictures

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This was Day 1 of Insanity Max30 and I am almost finished Round 1. I will be posting those pictures very shortly. As I have seen my progress and realized that my love for what I do could help someone else struggling I decided to become a Beachbody Coach. So hopefully by reading my story you feel like you can relate to me in some way or you simply feel like I would be a great help to you in achieving your goals this year. Whatever the reason I would love to help. Contact me using the links or you can find me on

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/fitwithfour

TeamBeachbody: www.teambeachbody.com/bethnyce

Shakeology: www.shakeology.com/bethnyce

And Babies Make 4

By October I was over being pregnant and just anxious to meet our little boys! Finally on October 6th they arrived! Declan and Ciaran, I still look at them in amazement that I was able to carry them 1 day shy of 38 weeks. 

Sometimes Life Has Other Ideas

Fast Forward to April 1, 2014...my husband and I were going to our first ultra sound for the baby. Our doctor wanted to make sure we had the correct due date. At this point I was 11 weeks pregnant. As we anxiously awaited seeing the first picture of our little one we came to realize that the screen looked split. My immediate reaction was that the tv was broken and that we were going to be moved to another room. Then I started to realize what was happening and the ultrasound technician says "Well there is Baby A and there is Baby B, that is how we refer to twins." I just sat there stunned. I thought it was an April Fool's joke I mean it was April 1st after all! However, after being reassured that it would be illegal to post someone else's ultrasound picture during my appointment I became excited, fearful and anxious. There was some laughing and crying in that moment. After the dust settled and we began processing what lie ahead for the next 8 months I wasn't sure what all was going to be happening to me. I didn't want to seem like a bad person for worrying about what my body was going to look like after having my children. I was excited and if I had to get stretch marks and the whole bit I was up for it, but I just couldn't imagine being able to carry 2 at once! 

Months went on and my diet as well as my workouts started to diminish. I was no longer able to do T25 even modified and the idea of just doing walking was depressing since I loved my Insanity type workouts from the past. I just remember feeling like I was losing myself because my love for working out was no longer part of my life at least the way I wanted it to be. I filled my time with projects around the house and that seemed to be enough fitness for me as I was much more tired this pregnancy. 

This is me at week 32 (I had almost 6 weeks left!)

My Fitness Journey

I have always considered myself a person who was athletic, but I had an unhealthy relationship with food. I love to eat. I love to eat all the foods we are not supposed to. As I grew older I started to realize that if I was ever going to be truly happy with myself I had to stay away from the things that were keeping me down. So after having my second daughter I decided to give into the late night infomercials and purchase Insanity. It was the best decision I have ever made (other than marrying my husband ). 
For the next 60 Days I was totally transformed. I went from a person who was out of shape, sort of flabby, and exhausted to someone that was excited to wear a bikini and go shopping! The nutrition plan that was included was really easy to follow and my older daughter actually liked the recipes. This was a win win in my book! These were my results after 60 days! I was so happy and excited to start the next journey which would be T25. I promised myself that if I was to ever get pregnant again I would be healthy and fit and make sure to do the modified workouts.....well sometimes you can't plan for everything. 

About 1 month before I had our 2nd daughter

Happy Birthday Brynley!! 



60 Days Later!!!

Family Vacation 2013!!

Me at the beach finally rocking my 2 piece :-)