Surviving 16-Hour Days

So, what's the difference?

Price? Sure. The one on the left is cheaper. But that's where its advantages end.

As a single mom, money is always tight. So, recently I experimented with my morning breakfast routine.

I tried a month of Carnation Instant Breakfast instead of Shakeology for breakfast.

Cheaper. Yep. Also, groggy. Grumpy. Exhausted. Unmotivated. Down. Dragging.

See, since money is always so tight, I've had to take on several jobs. One of those jobs requires me to wake at 4am at least 5 days a week, drive an hour into work, put in an 8-hour shift (spending my 1-hour lunch break answering emails for my other jobs), drive an hour home, put in another 5-6 hours of grading, posting, and emailing for my other jobs, while also cooking dinner, cleaning the house, doing dishes, and finishing up the laundry. Do you see any rest time in there? Yeah, me either. *sigh*

Going nonstop from 4am until 10pm 5-6 days a week requires energy. Motivation. Drive. Willingness. Focus.

Want to know why I am willing to invest $100 a month in a meal replacement drink? Because I can FEEL the difference when I drink my Shakeology. (Even better, now that I'm a Beachbody Coach with customers who have discovered how amazing this stuff is, my Shakeology is paid for each month with extra income to boot!)

Sure, it's healthier than other meal replacement drinks. It's helped me stop taking iron supplements for my anemia. My complexion is clearer. I no longer get headaches. And despite my loss of workout time, I'm maintaining my target weight.

But mostly, it gets me through the day. Every other breakfast option I tried left me literally dragging and raiding the vending machine for a bag of Cheetos by 9am. When you're looking at another 13 hours to go in a day, dragging by 9am is just about the worst feeling in the world. Plus, Cheetos are apparently frowned upon when your job is moving clothing around on the sales floor. Something about orange fingers. Whatever.

But when I drink my Shakeology on my way to work in the morning, I feel great the rest of the day. Sure, I still dread getting up at 4am. I mean, it's 4am. No human being should be in public-appropriate clothes at that hour. But since it's what I have to do for now to be successful, then at least I'm going to have some energy. I follow up with a cup of almonds for my 10am snack and I'm good to go until lunch.

Not convinced? Give it a try. Click here to order a Taste Sampler and see for yourself. 

Learn more about the benefits and nutrition of Shakeology here.

Everything You Need To Lose Weight

What you get:

PiYo at-home fitness program
3-Day Refresh
1-Month Supply Shakeology (flavor of your choice)
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Everything you need to lose weight and improve your health. 

Remember, summer bodies are made in winter. So let's kick this winter off right!

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The perfect program. Period.

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Fitness Tricks & Nutrition Treats!

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What better time to make your DVD player work for you and get back to fitness than the New Year?

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Single Mom Seeking Financial Peace

If you want to live like no one else can, first you have to live like no one else is willing to. - Dave Ramsey

I may be a little off on my quote, but I'm just too exhausted to open the book and find the exact wording. Really, the book is literally less than an arm's length away. It's not even a bent-arm's length away and still I'm just too tired to reach for it. So, let's just call that opening sentence a paraphrase. 

The point is, I have been living like no one else (or at least very few people) is willing to for the last two months. Working a total of 5 jobs (that really equate to a little more than 2 full time jobs hours-wise), I have had to sacrifice some things during that time. 

• I've had to cut back on time spent with friends. Just when I'd started to actually have a social life, a feat in and of itself for a single mom, I have had to all but eliminate it. 
• Then I had to cut back on running, one of my few escapes from work and stress.
• Now I've had to cancel my plan to run my first marathon. Or delay it. Let's say I'm delaying my first marathon. 

But, for the first time in my life, I am beginning to feel somewhat comfortable with my financial situation. I still have a long way to go before I reach a level where I can feel fully comfortable, but it's progress. I have avoided a zero balance for the last 3 weeks straight. (Really. I have money in my bank account. WHAT?!? Yep.)

Four am wake up calls, 13-15 hour days 6-7 days a week, loss of social and recreational time, and a little extra stress are not things I would normally recommend. But they are temporary. Six months temporary. That is my commitment to this plan. I will continue this schedule through January when I will have the first step of my financial peace strategy completed and then I can start to scale back on work and reclaim the funner parts of my life. (More fun parts? Funnier parts? Whatever. You get what I'm saying.)

So, whether you're a single mom or a struggling couple, I encourage you to consider making some sacrifices in the short-term so you can live better in the long-term. 

Go ahead and live like no one else is willing to so you can live like no one else can...or something like that.

Finding Time For Fitness

90

That's how many hours a week I've been working over the last two months.

Add to that the cooking, cleaning, laundry, and grocery shopping I have to do. All of the animals, both mine and fosters, to care for. Plus football games every Friday and soccer games every Saturday and Sunday. Bills. Research. Friendships to be maintained.

It's all a bit overwhelming. Exhausting. Draining. 

At the end of the day, I just want to sleep. And it would be so easy to do. Just crawl into bed every night without giving a second thought to my health and fitness. Allow myself to fall out of shape and into poor health. So easy.

But the unhealthier you get, the harder it is to keep up with such an overwhelming schedule. So, I make the time. Just 10 minutes at the start of every day (really, 4am burpees suck more than 4pm burpees for some reason). And another 10 minutes at the end of every day. 

But how? HOW do I motivate myself to do this? Because I have to. No, not just for the sake of my health, but for the sake of my business. I have found that the single most amazing benefit from signing up to be a Beachbody Coach is that I HAVE to stay healthy and fit. My business relies on it. 

Interested yet? Find out more by clicking here.