The email that helped me win a trip to New York with Brittany Bellair (BBEatsClean)

If you heard a loud squeal earlier today, it was me! I won a trip to New York with an amazing fitness lady, Brittany Bellair (aka BBEatsClean). On this trip, we will be attending the NPC Stage Ready Workshop to learn more about training, nutrition and competing from 3 IFBB pros in Figure, Bikini and Physique. I want to share with all of you the email that helped me win this chance of a lifetime!

Brittany,

Hey, I am Jordan Lassiter (aka FutureMrsFlowers on Instagram) and I live in Fort Worth, Texas... just a couple miles from you! . Let me tell you a little about myself...

Almost 4 years ago I gave birth to a little boy. When I got home from the hospital I weighed in at my heaviest ever at a whopping 265 pounds! I had always struggled with my weight and tried every fad diet you could think of... literally every single one of them. Nothing ever worked. When my son was 3 months old, something clicked inside me and I knew I had to lose the weight. I was getting tired playing on the floor with him and I knew that would just get worse as he got older. I was a single mother who knew it would be HARD but I took control of my life and met with a trainer. I was taught how to eat clean and workout the right way. Over the course of the next 15 months I lost 101 pounds... May 4, 2011 I weighed 164!!! I felt GREAT!!! Actually, I had even started to try and tone my body up more so that I could maybe one day try and enter a fitness competition. I lost the weight  by running so I had like no muscle definition at all. After a few short months I started seeing myself more toned then I ever imagined...

Fast forward to January 2012... I had a knee injury from high school and gaining 100 pounds, then losing it by running made matters worse. Early 2012 I ended up falling down a flight of stairs and then falling and dropping my son... I had to stop working out and meet with a doctor. Ended up I had 2 options, have a reconstructive knee surgery OR have a knee replacement... I am 27 years old! We chose the reconstructive knee surgery. I had the surgery April 12, 2012. After surgery I learned I would never be able to run again. There was to much damage in my knee (they had to shave off part of my cap, take a hamstring and tie my cap down so it wouldn't shift, they had to chisel off my shin and scoot it over and bolt it back down and then try and take as much arthritis out that they could... I have more than a 80 year old woman). After surgery I had to go to rehab, I had to spend the next 2 months learning how to walk again. I fell into a GREAT depression and ate my way through the next couple months.

It wasn't until early this year, I snapped out of my depression and realized I needed to take control of my life (again) or I would be back up to 265. January 2013, I was 212 pounds and hated it. I decided to go hardcore on my clean eating and get my BIG butt back to the gym. In the past 6 months I have been able to take control and learn how to workout again with my knee restrictions. No running meant I had to find out how to workout again... actually this time around I have fallen in love with lifting weights and I am more toned then I ever have been before. I am back down to 182 as of this morning!!!

I am getting married in March 2014 and plan on being in the best shape of my life!!! I cant wait!!! Oh and August 22 is my 28th birthday so what better way to spend it with a girl I look up to (you duh) in New York learning about something that I have been wanting  to do for a long long  time!!!

Whoever you pick is going to be a lucky girl... just hope and pray its me!!

Toodles!
Jordan

***I was also just informed that Casey, my loving fiance, sent in an email on my behalf telling Brittany why she should pick me. Seriously, how the heck did I get so lucky to call him mine?!***

Fit Test

Have you ever done Insanity? If so, you know that Shaun T has you do a Fit Test at the beginning of the program and then every couple of weeks. This allows you to see your progresss of how far you have come since day 1. I love this idea because everytime I would get discouraged, I would compare my fit test results and know that the program is actually working.

Tonight I train Aves for my 2nd time and I have decided that I am going to do a fit test with her. It will be workouts she can do at home so that if she wants to, she can practice and get better, stronger and faster for the next fit test. Casey and I sat down and wrote out a list (below) of what her fit test will be made up of. It is all things that most people should know how to do already and I know over time, she will be able master each one of these workouts. Since I am not with Aves every single day, I have decided to have her re-take the fit test weekly (on Wednesday). Taking her fit test weekly will show me that she is putting the work in (or not) and it will help her stay encouraged to eat healthy and workout.

Here is the Fit Test:

Avery’s Fit Test
Wednesday July 17, 2013

Mad Dash (time) _______________________ - This will be her running from her house to the stop sign at the end of her street and back.

1 Minute of Burpees ____________________ - How many she can complete in a minute time

1 Minute of Jumping Jacks _______________ - How many she can complete in a minute time

1 Minute of Crunches ___________________ - How many she can complete in a minute time

1 Minute of Push-Ups ___________________ - How many she can complete in a minute time (on her knees, hopefully one day she can do them regular)

Plank (time) ___________________________ - How long she can hold a plank

1 Minute of Squats _____________________  - How many she can complete in a minute time

1 Minute of Punches ___________________ - How many she can complete in a minute time (squat position, throwing left and right jabs)

1 Minute of Lunges ____________________ - How many she can complete in a minute time (walking lunges)

1 Minute Box Jumps ____________________ - How many she can complete in a minute time (a box jump is basically a squat in the air)

Training Aves!

Last night was my 1^st training with Avery, it was pretty exciting! Avery is 12 years old and will be going to middle school in the fall. She is one of the brightest kids I have ever met and the girl is SO photogenic. I love her to pieces so I am very happy that I am able be on this journey with her.

 

Okay so here is how last night went… I picked Aves up and while we drove to the gym, we were able to talk in depth about why she wants this change. I wanted to make sure that this change is something SHE really wants. I know from experience that if the change is not your idea, you will not change. She ensured me that she wants to change and is ready to do the work. She did admit that her motivation dies down very quickly, something else I relate to. We were also able to talk about how weight loss is 80% eating and 20% working out. I wanted her to know that even if she doesn’t make it to the gym every day, that she is still in control of her weight loss if she just makes the right choices when she eats.

We arrived at the gym and I decided to go through a MobileFit workout with her. For those of you who do not know what MobileFit is, it is a program offered by the YMCA that allows you to track your workouts, food and it also creates workouts for you to complete while at the gym. I have been using the workout tool on the days I do not meet with my trainer Lo. It has been very beneficial to me because it makes me step outside my comfort zone and lift weights I wouldn’t lift on my own. Anyways, I decided to print off a workout and go through this with Aves. I was able to show her different weight machines, I was able to show her the correct form she needs to use while lifting, and I was able to work out with her and feel like I got a great workout in. I was very proud of her while she was lifting. If something was to light in weight, she told me and let me up her weight. When we did biceps, the lighter weights were occupied so she went for the heavier weights… I was proud!!

We finished up with some cardio on the bike. The only program I found on the bike that I like is a high low program… it is where you pedal at a 80-90 RPM for 1 minute and then get your RPM up above 120 for 30 seconds. We ended up doing this for 15 minutes and then had a 5 minute cool down. Avery was done after about 7 minutes. She wanted to give up and I could see that motivation dying inside her. I had to push her, like Lo pushes me, but I had to do it in a way that she would fight harder instead of breaking. Every time she wanted to give up, I would remind her why she started, “You want to lose 10 pounds by school”, “you want people to compliment you on your weight”, “you want girls to whisper about how much weight you have lost instead of how much you have gained”… This method helped along with telling her that if she stopped again, I would add 1 minute on to the cardio session.

She finished strong and I am very proud of her! I left her with some homework (taking before full body photos and coming up with 3 goals she has) and told her I would see her again on Wednesday. This is such an exciting chapter in my life and on the way home I couldn’t help but smile because I know I am finally doing what I was called to do!!

Losing weight and changing your life is great, but losing weight and helping other people change their lives while you change yours is even better!!!

Women + Weights = MAGIC!!!

Two years ago when I lost 101 pounds, I did it by running. I hardly ever lifted weights, unless my trainer made me. Even then, I slacked big time. I was scared that if I lifted the weights, I would gain weight and that was the last thing I wanted to do. When I had my knee surgery, I ended up gaining back almost 40 pounds and it came back fast!

This time around, I have been talking to one of my dear friends who lifts weights and she has really helped me fall in love with weight lifting. If I would have been lifting weights 2 years ago, I probably would not have gained all 40lbs back because I would have had the muscle to help me break down the fat.

Women – You will NOT turn into a gargantuan man by lifting weights!!! Please understand this!!!!

I have done my research and wanted to key you in on a few reasons why weight lifting will actually help you lose weight…

1.       Muscle BURNS fat

2.       Muscle helps speed up your metabolism

3.       Muscle basically eats away your fat because the muscle needs energy to rebuild after you lift and the fat is what it uses for energy

4.       Muscle helps shape your body – helps you look better naked (wink wink)

5.       The more muscle you have, the more your body will burn fat/calories

You could weigh 150 pounds and never lift or you can weigh 150 pounds and lift weights and you would look so much better with the muscle then without… don’t believe me? Check out Brittany Eats Clean on Facebook or bbeatsclean on Instagram. She posted pictures of this exact example last night!

Ladies, take it from someone who has lost weight both ways (all cardio and cardio + weight lifting), I am in MUCH better shape now then I was 2 years ago even though I am still 14 pounds away from hitting my 101 weight loss again.

Moral of the story… LIFT WEIGHTS and don’t be scared!!!

Have a happy health FIT Friday!