Now that I am in my mid-40s, I can tell my body chemistry is changing. I'm holding on to fat in places that I didn't before. It's taking more attention to nutrition and more intense exercise to get the results I want. This article nicely summarizes how women should exercise for each decade of their life. I hope you find the information helpful!

I have several friends that walk to lose weight. Eventually, they reach a plateau just as in any exercise program. This article tells you how to change things up to increase your fitness and continue on your weight loss journey.

I have been introduced to so many new foods while on the Beachbody Ultimate Reset. One of my favorites is Kabocha squash. That was delicious. I baked it in the oven and then pureed with coconut milk. Well, tonight I had one even BETTER!!!! Jamaican Calabaza squash! I have never tasted something so delicious that wasn't chocolate! It was delicious right out of the oven. I bought it pre-cut in a large slice. The linked article likely explains why it was pre-cut! I ate some right out of the oven and pureed the rest in vegetable broth. Water would have sufficed just fine. This was heaven on a spoon! It has a similar nutrition profile to sweet potato which means twice as many carbs as the Kabocha. For that reason, I would likely have the Calabaza squash as a mid-morning carb snack rather than at dinner unless it was a small side dish. I try to limit carbs to leafy greens at dinner time.

There are no words to do this video justice.

It's time to plan dinner. On the Reset, you really have to plan. I haven't found Kobacha squash yet so I decided to do some research on it. "Kabocha is like butternut squash's sadly underappreciated sister. A single cup of kabocha has forty calories compared to butternut squash's 60, and has less than half of the carbs of butternut squash (7 grams vs. 16 grams). But, it tastes better... the perfect substitute. "

I did a 5 week Insanity/Asylum/X2 hybrid in prep for my back to back live workout weekend w/ Shaun T. It was a great hybrid and I enjoyed it. It was tough and I noticed my resting heart rate creeping up. I was also under a lot of stress which contributed. My resting heart rate was back up into low 60s after being in low 50s which can be a sign of over-training/stress. After Tai Cheng in the evenings, it would even be 49bpm. Well, I'm on week 2 of the BUR, and last night took my resting heart rate. It was 45bpm!!!!!! Look at what a week of rest does for a body! YES!!!!

Well after having three bad, bad days on the Reset w/ only 4hrs/night due to aches, I slept through the night (well I got up once to pee)! When I got up, I had a bit of an ache in one shoulder blade but I was finally able to fall back to sleep. I probably slept 9hrs!!! I woke up feeling fantastic!!!! And I'm down 2.5lbs from yesterday!!!!! I haven't been below 140lbs in a long time dealing with what I think is food sensitivity issues as well as hormonal issues. I just bloat up and gain 4lbs in 2days and then it just hangs on. I looked so much skinnier in the mirror I just had to hop on the scale! I'm on day 6 today. Looking forward to a good day!