Scare The Pounds Away

I find October to be the month that I am most conscious about my weight and looks. I'm sure I'm not the only one especially with all the amazing costumes out there. Not to mention with the holidays around the corner, I start thinking about gatherings, holiday parties and all the photos that will be taken. 

I must admit that I'm not at the weight nor image that I had hoped to be. SO I'm asking for your support and for you to join me on this mission. We have three Months until the end of the year and I don't know about you but I really want to have an amazing New Year's. So I'm not going to give this year up without of fight. How about you?

For the next three Months we are going to be coming up with our own fitness calendar to get fit. Now please understand that you should consult a physician before you start any exercise program.

October's Challenge: SCARE THE POUNDS AWAY

We took our favorite and most effective exercises to work out all the muscle groups that we want to target for the day. There are no fancy gadgets or equipment needed, maybe your computer or smartphone to capture the moment or look up an exercise. But don't fret we will be posting videos on INSTAGRAM @lionkarma and @lion_karma to demonstrate to you how to do the exercises correctly. For fun we through in some INSTAGRAM challenges for you to do, don't forget to tag us @lionkarma and @lion_karma so we can cheer you on! Anybody who wants to do the challenge don't forget to add the following hashtags #lionkarma #scarethepoundsaway #lion_karma #twolumpsorone. We are so excited....and we are looking forward to seeing your results. 

Cardio:

 Advance: Run for 20/30min

 Intermediate: Run-Walk for 20/30min. 

Basic: Power Walk for 20/30min. 

Upperbody/ Abs 

Upper Body 2X 

1min Arm Rotations

 1min reverse 

1 min plank 

1 min push-ups 

1 min tricep dips

 Abs 4X 

30 s. plank 

30 s. crunches 

30 s. bicycle 

30 s. V crunches 

30 s. Russian twist

 Glutes/Legs

 30 Jumping Jacks 

20 Alternating lungs 

30 Squats 

30 Sec Pulse Squats

 30 Sec Hold Squat 

20 Donkey Kicks

 (R) Leg(flex foot) 

30 sec Pulse(R) donkey kick (point foot) 

20 Donkey Kick (L) leg (flex foot)

30 sec Pulse (L) leg (point foot)

10 calf raises

So get off the couch and let's do this! Follow us on Instagram @lionkarma and @melissalansdown to catch us in action on this challenge and videos on how to do these exercises. 

Melissa L.

Why I started Beachbody.

I started this blog last year and stopped since the purpose of it seemed to get away from me. I had wanted to document my weight loss journey with medifast but after I completed the challenge I actually gained more weight then I had originally started with and my thyroid started to act up my heart just wasn't in it and I wanted to go back into hiding. So i stepped away from this blog to avoid any depression triggers. So let me update you on what has been going one this past year. In October I started a Beach Body Challenge - P90X-! Yes that P90X that one see on line or people joke about. Well it's not a joke it actually provides you with results if you do it more then one day! See photo below after all a picture is worth a thousand words right. This was the gift I gave myself for Christmas last year. I started the challenge in October and ended on December 29, 2012. I went from huffing and puffing up the stairs to actually wanting to push myself to the next challenge. I'm about 16lbs pounds lighter and a heck of alot of inches smaller in my after photo. The results where so amazing to me on so many levels that I decided to become a Beach Body Coach and help others find their way to the best version of themselves. After my challenge I took January off and just kept a clean diet and subbed Shakeology for one of my meals and shockingly enough the weight stayed off and I lost another two pounds. So yes, I recommend Shakeology to everybody. So as pumped up as I was I ordered Turbo fire from http://beachbodycoach.com/lionkarma for my February challenge. Unfortunately, I took a very bad spill and partially torn two ligaments from left ankle on January 21st 2013. I was more mad and frustrated then before. I really wanted to do this challenge and get SUMMER READY. It's now the end of March and have been cleared to workout for about two weeks now and I am ready to start my next challenge. For those of you who have had any form of sprain on your ankle or wrist can understand why I took an extra two weeks to let me ankle heal. I have been walking around and doing my therapy exercises so hopefully I will not be reinjuring my ankle anytime soon. I'm so happy with my results from Beachbody. I have to say it's changed my life, no seriously. I went from feeling like an "umpa Lumpa" to knowing that I can achieve my dream body if I actually put effort, commitment and determination behind my goals. This summer I went through the Pilates Certification Program and currently finishing my hours so that I can be a fully certified Pilates Instructor. Thank-you to my Beachbody friends Ashlee and Sandra for keeping me motivated.

Simple Pleasures

Awhile back we're watching regular TV and this Liberty Mutual commercial catches my eye. http://youtu.be/E9UICosC5aU I actually teared up! Thing is it seems so trivial but just as you see the people watching good things happen people watch bad things happen too. I don't know about you but I rather Pass the Positive Forward! So my little group of friends got together and decided to create a short list of guidelines for Passing The Positivity Forward.

Smiles bring JOY

1. Smile

I'm sure you've all heard smiles are contagious and you attract more with honey then vinegar. So Smile, flash those pearly whites and smile. I know for some of us this my be hard at first but it does get better! Personally I've noticed that the more that I smile at others I feel happier and calmer. Remember: "Your never fully dressed without a smile!"

Inner Peace

                                   2. YOGA

I love Yoga it promotes self-acceptance and self-awareness. Take an hour out of your week to self reflect and accept yourself for who you are. Once you can love yourself then you can have compassion for others. 

Happy Memories

3. Photos and more Pictures

Taking Pictures of the people you love captures special moments that you can revisit when ever you want. My kids enjoy looking through their baby photo albums and those of family members before they where born. I like to let them take pictures when we go on trips they get such joy out of it. When we have company over they drool over the photos I have sparsely placed throughout the living room.

         

Simple Pleasures

               4. Enjoy Simple Pleasures

The simple pleasure such as the warm hug of a special friend, the company of your loved ones, and the laughter of your children can stay with you through out the day. It could be the coziness of your warm coffee mug or the feeling of walking barefoot on the grass.  Simple pleasures can be so relaxing and comforting. Children are notorious for this but as adults we become cynical.... remember that special blanket or teddy bear you dragged around or playing in the sand.

Group Hug

 5. HUG A Friend/Loved One

Many Child psychologists believe children should get at least fifteen hug a day! Adults need hugs too! You can greet your friends with a happy hug, that shows your glad to see them. When you spouse comes home great them with a hug and a warm hello! That kindness and positive energy that you just gave someone sends ripples of positive energy through your house, to your friends and family.

So start sending positive vibes to others right now. Any of these five simple steps can help you find your own positive energy and help others find theirs. The more positive energy that we share the happier we feel. The beautiful part of this is when we have positive energy within, people see that we have a glow 

about us!

HUGS XXXXX,

Melissa L.

Summer Recap

Hello There,

This summer was amazing,

Esmeralda took her Pilates Certification program and is so passionate about pilates. She wants people to understand that by include a healthy diet and exercise into your daily routine it will lead to a happy and healthy life!

 This weekend we went to a "Relay for Life" in support of cancer survivors. here are are some pictures from the event.

Helping Esme teach Pilates to Cancer Survivors.

Esme teaching the group that controlled movements are essential.

Esme doing what she LOVES, teaching pilates!

Alex had so much fun, he chipped his permanent front tooth, we call him "SHARP Tooth". He spent most of his summer sleeping in, drawing, eating swimming and sleeping some more. He grew 2.5 inches over summer and out grew all his jeans!

Sharp Tooth painting his piggy bank at the fundraiser.

This summer we adopted a beautiful Himalayan kitty, which have named TY. The Himalaya's are located in Tibet so Ty...Tibet...get it? I've always wanted one and the owners wanted him to go to a good home so it's been a perfect match.

Ty

I will be writing more regularly now that I'm settled in my new job! 

Be happy and remember to keep only the Sugar and Spice in your life that makes you feel warm and happy inside!

Namaste,

Melissa

Lion Karma: Yoga studios

I'm so proud of her, my daughter has taken her passion and is doing something about it. Here is her frst post on her First blog ever!!

Lion Karma: Yoga studios: I've looked around and noticed that Yoga classes can cost around $15 or more per class, most places offer a bulk discount, unfortunately...

My 30 day Weight Loss Challenge!

I'm not at the weight I thought I would be by this time and date. So I decided to do something about it, I just started a 30 day experiment. My experiment is to whether or not I can lose 20 pounds in 30 days. I will be keeping a detailed record of the experiment on my blog Two Lumps or One. I hope that you can find motivation and support with any weight loss challenges that you may be having. Please join me and feel free to contact me with any question you may have regarding my experiment.

Melissa L.

Our Weekend

Wow, how quickly the weekend goes by! We hope that everybody had a safe and wonderful weekend!


Friday, was suppose to be date night but it ended up being a family night, the Kidos and The Man had Filippi's  "Fit For a King" Pizza and I had a yummy salad! Esmeralda is fighting a Chest cold, so about 15 minutes into Pirates of The Caribbean 3 she had passed out, poor girl hope she feels better soon.  Everybody seemed tired today, yes even me I ended up asleep on the couch so we ended up calling it an early night.


Saturday, the man worked on his bikes. Kids and I went to Dog Beach in Oceanside with our friends. It was alittle over cast but,  the beach was buzzing! There where dogs running every where, little dogs, big dogs, brown dogs and yellow dogs. Alex was laughing so hard and pointing to the dogs going to the water to retrieve their toys, yelling out GO DOG GO! Funny how a childhood story can stay with them for a lifetime. It was great seeing all these happy dogs running like crazy!

Alex defiantly had the most fun, playing in the sand and throwing the ball to all the random dogs that would come up to him and drop their toys at his feet. The dogs where so excited to be out and playing that they didn't care who threw their ball. This creamy little furry dog pictured below, decided to sit and relax with Jen and her little black furry pal decided to be come over and be part of our group too. Notice the Husky looking down at Brian's feet waiting for him to throw his ball so he could go chase it. You would think that looking at this picture all these dogs came with us but NONE of them are ours. 

Jen & Brian will all the friendly dogs that stopped by to say Hi.

Alex, Bentley and Esmeralda

Everybody had such a great time, especially the kids and Bentley! They had such a fun time at the beach the kids didn't want  go home. I know we will be going a lot more often once it starts warming up!


Sunday, Esmeralda and I had all the intensions in the world of going to our Yoga and Pilates class but with the Art Walk going on we said forget it and doubled back home instead. It wasn't even 9am on a Sunday morning and it was already crazy down in Little Italy.

Back home Alex decided to stay home (guess he was still tired from the Dog Beach) and watch cartoons with Uncle William. Esmeralda and I took Bentley to Bayfront Park for a walk. Coffees in hand we had our mother daughter time giggling about this and that. It was hilarious to walk Bentley with all the wild birds out there, it was like watching a kid at a candy store. (No I do not allow him to chase after birds, it's his instinct). I have to admit that we've been to the Marina before for Lunch and to go see the oldie cars that come down on occasion, but never to hang out or go for a walk there. The park is small but nice, clean, dog friendly and safe (police station on site).

Esmeralda and Bentley

I'm so glad that my kids make the most out of all the day trips we take around San Diego! It makes it easy to teach them to be happy and positive when we have positive and happy outlooks about everything we do. Laughter and Love always makes the day so much more enjoyable, we couldn't stop smiling all weekend long (even the dog)! 

What A Happy Dog!