"how did you do it?"

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I'm often asked "how did you do it?!" If your wondering this I have two simple questions for you! Do you believe in yourself? And do you love yourself? 

To be able to make a lifestyle change the most important step is believing that you can! Your mind is your most powerful weight loss weapon! Believe you can and you will! I don't mean dreaming about it I mean believing it and doing it!! You have to plan! Sit down on Saturday or Sunday and plan out your week! Plan your healthy meals, and grocery shop accordingly! (Do not buy junk!! Not even for your kids! Don't you want them to eat healthy too?) also throw away all the junk in your house! Once you've done that go through your schedule for the week plan around your daily routine and make time for your workout everyday! (Except your rest day) you have to believe you can do this and then follow through with the process if you do this every week you will succeed! 

You need to love yourself! You need to workout because you love your body and want to take care of it! We only get one body! Why not nourish it and take care of it! Let's stop just getting through life day by day and start loving every moment of your life! It's not easy to change your life but it's the most important and amazing thing you can do for yourself! We all have down days so it's so important to surround yourself with positive, supportive and loving people! Be selective!! Also I find it is so important to read a good book! Personal development and spiritual development are also extremely important!! I try to read 10 pages of my book every day! I also set time aside to meditate and pray! If you don't believe in God then just take time to be silent and be thankful for all of the amazing things in your life! If your ever struggling or need some tips and tricks please don't hesitate to message me! ardell23@hotmail.com or personal message me on Facebook! Have a great Thursday! Xo 

              Ashylla

The dreaded scale

Hello beautiful people today I am dedicating my post to the "dreaded scale". Through my fitness journey I have learned many important lessons, but this one is one of the biggest lessons I had to learn.

 In the beginning of my journey the weight was coming off pretty quickly on a consistent basis and I became very obsessed with the number on the scale! Eventually of course I hit a plateau and then I decided to push myself harder to see just how little I could weigh. To my dismay I started gaining weight!! I was so upset! I was working out even harder, pushing myself farther and eating the best that I ever had! I felt so lost, what was I doing wrong?

I completely stopped weighing myself!! I did some research and was so relieved to here that this is very common. That muscle weighs more than fat, and that I should not soul focus on the number on the scale but instead, to focus on the non scale victories!! How my clothes fit, how many inches I'm loosing and how great I feel!

 I've learned to be proud of my accomplishments and that I do not need to weight 120 lbs to be happy healthy and strong! If you've hit that plateau and are feeling discouraged you are not alone! The worst thing you can do is give up! Just avoid the scale and go by how your clothes fit, and how you feel because that is the most important part! Keep up the great work and always feel free to reach out to me for any tips, and knowledge I have learned along the way!!

 Xoxo.       Ashylla

Snacking, the art of snacking smart!

Hello all you beautiful people!

So lately I have been struggling with snacking! I know what I should snack on, I know that snacking is important but its so easy to get sick of a certain snack and to start craving something different!

I have come up with some snacking tips!!

1. don't buy snack you THINK you should eat, that you don't actually like, that's a waist of your hard earned cash! Because chances are you are not going to eat it! You need to enjoy your food!

2. switch your snacks up every once in a while so your not tempted to cheat on something that is NOT healthy!

3. Buy healthy snacks and snack in moderation! Don't over indulge. Do not buy the junk! keep it out of your house! Or you will eat it and you will feel awful about it.

4. Experiment with your snacks, try new things! Get on pinterest and find out what everyone is snacking on!

5. Make sure you buy things that are gong to fuel your body, not things that are empty calories and are going to leave you feeling awful and more hungry!

It is important to snack! You do not want to leave your body feeling empty! We need to find a balance in our meals! Practise portion control in your meals and snacks! Do not over indulge! I always eat 3 meals a day and have 2-3 snacks a day! its important to fuel our work, workouts, and daily activities! If we learn to eat healthy and meaningful calories we are going to feel amazing and have the energy we need to complete our days!

Some of my favourite snacks right now are;

roasted chickpeas, I LOVE chips and anything salty so this helps fill that void and is a healthy alternative to chips!

half of a grapefruit sprinkled with stevia: this helps stop your craving for sweets and is oh so good and good for you!

Oatmeal energy balls! These are my fav go to snack they are loaded with healthy ingredients and are super easy to make. They taste like a delicious no bake cookie!

Sugar snap peas! They are so Delicious and crunchy!

bananas and cottage cheese! This helps with the sweet and salty and cravings and is such a delicious combo!

Yogurt sprinkled with shredded coconut and handful of almonds! Dessert!!

What are you some of your favourite snacks?! Be sure to have healthy snacks on hand!! It is so important to eat enough calories in your day! Comment with your favourite snacks! I am always looking for yummy healthy snacks! Have a great weekend xo     Ashylla

Why I decided to become a beachbody coach

The day I decided to jump in with both feet to the beachbody team was a day I will never ever forget or regret! I have already learned so much through this ongoing internship and I would recommend this to every single person I know!! This internship helps you become better in tune with yourself and with what you want out of life and it is so inspiring to listen to and share in everyone's success and journey! I learn something new and am forever growing in this company!!
I decided I wanted to embark on this new journey because it is something I can do while staying home with my son, I dedicate 2 hr of my day to this business and I am already seeing a profit! I decided I wanted to do this because I want to help contribute financially to my family. But most of all I decided I wanted to do this because I truly want to help people!
I recently just started my first challenge group and for those of you who don't know what that is, it is a place filled with motivation, inspiration, love, knowledge, and all the support needed to reach goals you only dream of! I am absolutely loving planning out my challenges and helping my friends and family achieve there goals!
By becoming a beachbody coach it has helped me feel needed and appreciated. It is slowly starting to change my life for the better! I enjoy my life so much more now! If you are ever interested in talking health or fitness with me please do not hesitate to message me! I genuinely want to help others become the best versions of themselves!

Embarking on a new fitness journey

I am very excited to embark on a new fitness journey with you all! I have been thinking long and hard about this and IT just feels right! I really want to help inspire others and to continually be inspired by others! I have truly found a love for my health and fitness and it I'd extremely liberating!

An opportunity has come up for me to be a beach body coach. I have looked into it and decided that I am going to jump in with both feet and not look back!
Matt and I did p90x before we got married we ordered the shakeology, the prep workout drink and the post work out drink and we were diligent and we absolutely loved it! We were both in pretty good shape by the end of it, but we didn't feel like we achieved the results we so desperately wanted. We were working out an hour plus every single day! We were drinking out shakes and taking our supplements?! Why were we not ripped?! So what did we do? We quit, we gave up, through in the towel. I now know we were missing the most important step! We never changed out eating habits!!

What we eat and our portion sizes are the most important thing in fitness and in health! If you are not willing to change your eating habits you will not reach your goals! Sure you will lose some weight and feel better because your exercising BUT I promise you if you don't eat healthy and fuel your body you will not feel good and you will not reach your full potential!

I am beyond excited to share my experience with you guys this time around! Now that I am mentally, physically and emotionally on board with this journey! I know the results will be amazing I know I will feel amazing and I promise you that I will be open and honest about every single step of my journey.

My husband asked me why I was being so public about my lifestyle change and I've really been pondering that a lot lately and the answer is because I want to help each and every one of you! I want you to feel good, look good, to be healthy, happy and strong! I want to build you up and make a difference!

Matt and I are doing the p90x 3 right now and are loving it!! It's 30 min hard core amazing work outs! The kind of workout that your dripping from sweat every single beautiful time you do them! And BONUS they are only 30 min and you do them in the comfort of your own home!! I am a big supporter of at home workouts! You do not need a gym! Once your kiddos are sleeping or once your home at the end of the day make the time! Make your health a priority! All you need is the desire to want it! Make it a routine! Take care of yourself! NO appearance is not everything I KNOW that! BUT your health should be!!

Follow me on Instagram @ashyllasmith and follow my blog for this new chapter in my lifestyle change!! Xoxo.   Ashylla

P90x3 sure why not?!

So Matt and I decided we are going to do p90x3! Me thinking oh ya I'm in great shape this will be easy peasy.... Yaa not so much!! Lol I am loving it though! I love pushing myself!! Setting goals and pushing my body to it's limits is quite liberating!! We still go for our morning hike and I still throw in my m5 work out 2-3 times a week but instead of my regular circuit work out I'm substituting it with p90x3! I needed this change! It's easy to get comfortable in your daily routine and just do the minimum but I don't want to do that! I always want to be striving for more!

Matt and I did p90x before we got married so over 3 years ago now and we had a love hate relationship with it! By the end of it we were happy we did it but the hour workout every day just wasn't feasable for our lifestyle. As soon as we were done we completely stopped working out. We also never followed any kind of meal plan so we were in ok shape but definitely not like we are now! We are so excited to see what our results will be this time around, now that we are both in good shape and are eating healthy and want to work out! Couples who work out together stay together right?!? Lol but in all seriousness I am so happy that Matt and I are in this fitness journey together! We both feel so fantastic there is no looking back from here!

We are on week 3 of p90x3 and are sore but feeling great!! I actually love feeling sore it means that I am truly working my body and that means RESULTS!! If you are getting tired of your same old work out routines I strongly reccomend trying the p90x 3 they are amazing at home workouts that are only 30 min!! They will kick your but every time and leave you wanting more!!     Xoxo Ashylla

An important lesson I learned on my fitness journey

We cannot change genetics! We are born with a certain body type! Learn to embrace it and love your body! Learn how to properly work out your body to achieve your ideal physique! No you cannot get taller, longer legs, longer torso ect but yes you can perfect your beautiful body and be proud of every inch of it! I'm a hair stylist by trade and this applies to my line of work also! Often times women come in with a picture and say this is EXACTLY what I want my hair to look like and I say ok honey well you do not have the same face shape as this celebrity, you don't have the same hair type as this lady, you don't have the same, thickness, the same extensions ect ect but yes I can give you a version of this hair style! Tell me what you like most about the hair not the celebrity but the hair. They often change there mind completely and we decide on something suitable for there face shape and hair type! The same applies for your body and your fitness and diet routine! I am personally very short I am 5'1 so any weight I gain is extremely noticeable! I have a short torso and short legs so I really do not want to add any bulk to my physique I just want to tone and tighten to create an illusion of height! I do not use weights I do all of my exercise just using my own body weight. I do use a medicine ball for my Russian twists and for one of my squat circuits but other than that no weights at all. You need to figure out your body type set reasonable goals and make a plan of how to turn those goals into reality! We have to truly know and understand our bodies if we want to get accurate results! 

I have truly learned to love my body. I embrace being short! Good things come in small packages right! 😜 I have embraced my tiny boobs and learned to appreciate them! I've learnt that the best thing we can do for our mind body and spirit is truly love ourselves and take care of our selves! Life is beautiful start living it to the fullest! What is stopping you? Fear? Kick fear in the but and prove it wrong! You won't be sorry you may be sore! But you will never be sorry!! Xoxo 

 Ashylla