Welcome to my story!

Thank you for visiting my blog! Here I share my ups and downs of being a mom who has tried working from home, but most importantly wants to be healthy and share it with others. If you can make money while doing it...AWESOME!

I have a passion for LIFE and that includes my family, working out, eating healthy, and sharing what works and doesn't work with others.

I LOVE working with Xango and their new product Favao, it gives me the opportunity to mentor others to reach their health and wealth goals!

Monday, September 13, 2010

MLM Heavy Hitters - I Choose to Stear Clear!!!

This last week has been pretty amazing.  I had the pleasure of meeting an amazing woman who has joined Mentoring For Free and I see a VERY bright future for her!  I am so excited to have her on the team as she will continue to inspire me.  I also came across a quote that I simply love and that reminded me again why Mentoring For Free is such a great system and why the free ebook Success in 10 Steps has helped me in so many ways.  The quote is:

"Many people like to think that they'll find balance AFTER they find success.  But in reality, achieving balance IS success." ~ Brian Koslow

The very first chapter in Success in 10 Steps talks about Heavy Hitters in network marketing.  The fact that they've lied to you!!  This quote hit home when I saw it the other day and brought back a HUGE flashback I had with a heavy hitter in a previous MLM company I was with.  It was my first MLM company, so I had no idea.  However, when I had one conversation in particular with this flashy and very successful network marketer, my gut said RUN!!!  I had only been with the company a few months, and started out VERY strong!  I had many people excited about this new venture I was getting into and even without knowing the products, they trusted me and were ready to sign up.  I had quit my recruiting job and was now spending MORE time with this home-based business than I did on the job I quit.  It was getting crazy.  Spending more time, spending WAY too much money, and not getting much as far as paychecks.  I was very frustrated.

The "heavy hitter" was in town and attending one of our meetings.  I was so excited to sit down with him and  discuss what I was doing and see what I needed to change to improve the income.  My first question was how to BALANCE everything.  I went into network marketing to have a more balanced life with my husband and kids, to have more time with them, yet still work and bring in some money.  I'll never forget what he said.  He told me I needed to realize that I may have to live the next year or two unbalanced in order to provide that for my family down the road...in order to make the money that will give us more time with eachother.  Now, this guy had a kid and a wife, but he was travelling ALL of the time.  And he had been doing it for I think 5 years.  So I'm looking at him going, sure you have a flashy Rolex that probably costs more than my car and drive a car that cost as much as my house almost...but does your daughter know you?  Do you know her? 

So I said to him..."I'm not willing to do that, I want balance, I want MORE time with my kids now, not when they are teenagers and want nothing to do with me".  Know what he did?  Said alright, it's been great meeting you, but I'm tired.  He got up, put his jacket on and our conversation was OVER!  I knew then and there my gut was right.  This guy wasn't in this business to help me or anyone else, just himself completely.  Once he realized I wasn't willing to spend every hour possible on the phone or doing presentations to get more people signed up in our business, I wasn't worth his time.  Talk about a slap in the face!  That was the beginning of the end for me in that company.  I had already felt like it wasn't right, I was buying all this product and training and marketing and not seeing any return.  I was losing distributors like crazy because they were doing the same...they were just smarter and got out a lot faster than I did!

Then about 6 months later I decided to open this free ebook someone on Facebook had sent to me.  I had noticed it before and thought, "yeah right it's free, nothing to do with MLM is free".  But I opened it and started reading it.  And right in the first chapter Michael says on page 13, "It's not your fault.  Let that sink in.  How does it make you feel?  I don't care what any heavy hitter has ever told you.  Fact is they've lied to you.  Doesn't that make you angry?" 

The story I just shared with you is one of MANY that make me very angry about my first MLM experience.  I'm sure you can relate!  My hope is to get this information to as many people as possible before they have a lot to be angry about.  This business is awesome, you'll meet some of the most amazing people in it who will inspire you.  You can make a lot of money with the right 5 pillar company and the right system. 

If you are in MLM and struggling or thinking about trying it.  Please, please, please read this free ebook at http://mnicholson.successin10steps.com/?mad=48381 and save yourself a great deal of frustration and anger.  It really is free and a great book to keep in your library! 

Here's a great quote from the ebook, "Success leaves footprints in the sand that you can follow.  If you can't follow the footprints, you must be on the wrong beach." ~ Michael Dlouhy (pg. 12)  It's a great quote because if you are in a company that does not have a system that is easy to duplicate, it won't be easy to get your downline to duplicate either and you'll be spinning your wheels.  Mentoring For Free is a system that works no matter what MLM company you are with.  You can learn more about it at http://www.mnicholson.mentoringforfree.com/

Monday, August 16, 2010

What a Crazy Summer...Creating Great Memories!

This has been a summer I will never forget.  It made me appreciate the time we get with family and friends and realize how fast things change!  For example, Sienna (my oldest), will start kindergarten next year (2011) and we won't have the flexibility we have now to go and visit family when it's most convenient for us.  But we made the most of this summer, so I decided to use this blog entry to reflect on it and appreciate it!  I haven't been to my blog in a long time, but all for good reasons!  Our summer has been filled with friends and family coming to visit us in Las Vegas and with a couple of trips to visit them and a lot of fun get togethers with our friends here!  It's a summer that made me so thankful I have the ability to stay at home with my girls and work from home, when I can.

The girls and I were able to go spend a week in New Mexico with my family and go camping in the beautiful Colorado Rockies for the 4th of July.  Those are memories that they will remember forever, and so will I.  Unfortunately, my husband had to stay home for this trip.  It was a great getaway for us in the heat of the summer in Vegas.  The girls could play outside pretty much all day long and I was able to catch up with my family.  I am SO thankful for my family and for the fact that I am blessed with the time to see them right now. 

We recently spent a week and a half in Connecticut, where my husbands' family lives.  That was great too.  I hate that our families live so far away from us and from eachother...however, the bright side is that our girls get to see so many beautiful and amazing places because of it.  So we make the most of it!  Camping and fishing in Colorado, and the beach and zoo in Rhode Island!  I look forward to when they are older and we can take them to Boston and New York City.  Growing up in New Mexico, those are places I never thought I'd see...but met my husband and got the chance to live there and now go back and show our girls what awesome places they are!

Now our vacations are over and everyone elses are too, so time to get back to a routine!  I'm excited though, I'm still able to spend quality time with my husband and girls while I get back to a home-based business that is enjoyable and rewarding.  This is so much better than having to go back to a 9-5 job (if not more hours) that I really hate and that pulls me away from the people who mean the most to me.  I love the time I get with my friends and our kids, building memories they'll never forget.  But I'm also very excited to get back to work and back to introducing more people to the wonderful network marketing industry and how to do it in a way that works for them!  I have finally found a job where I can really balance my work and my family.  

Having time to take trips like this with my family and the time to spend with those who mean the most to me reminds me of why I have made the plan to stay out of the corporate world.  I don't want to go back to the job where I have to work when I'm told and take vacation when I'm told.  Or worry if I'm going to be laid off.  I have found my Plan B in network marketing and even though it's in it's early stages, I have the determination to make it work!  I have an amazing success story to share.  Even after Walter & Julie Reade got involved in M-L-M, they had years of failure. Then they managed to turn it all around with the Mentoring For Free system.  Read their story here if you're interested, http://mnicholson.mentoringforfree.com/zSUCCESS_Reade.php

I hope you enjoy my story and Walter and Julie's and hope you have a wonderful day!!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Promote YOU, Not Your MLM Company!

I've been going through some amazing training with Mentoring For Free, but there's one point that has already made the biggest change in my home-based business...don't promote my network marketing company, promote me!  Don't promote my MLM company products, promote me!  Why?  I was just in a training call and they said there are now somewhere around 3,000 companies out there claiming to be network marketing companies.  This is the most basic reason as to why you should promote you and not your MLM company, why would you want to have competition with 3,000 other companies.  Then you are comparing your compensation plan to theirs, your product to theirs, your upline to theirs, and on and on!  I'd much rather sell myself and the system and leadership and coaching I can offer someone first and foremost!  I like to think I am much more competitive this way:)

Second, put yourself in your prospects shoes.  As for myself, I prefer someone to approach me and find out a little about who I am and what I'm looking for and WHY I'm looking for it before they just start in on me about this new amazing company where I can work only 3-5 hours per week to start my home-based business on a part-time basis and very quickly start making $10,000 or $20,000 per week if I'm coachable and teachable.  You know what?  I fell for it once and sadly the people I was sponsored by did too.  I can unfortunately say, none of them or me made it to that $10,000 or $20,000 per week...not even a few hundred per week.  Why, because we were being taught the recruit, recruit, recruit system to not care so much about the people, just get them to sign up and get them to sign people up, etc.  You know that system, I'm sure many of you reading this have been there!  The one where you work so hard to get friends on Facebook who love the positive things you have to say whether through quotes or your personal life, yet once you start promoting your MLM company it's all over and you see your friends list going down almost as fast as it's going up.  The worst part of this is the people "de-friending" you are the warm market people, the ones you have known for years, maybe even some family members start ignoring what you have to say!  I wasn't comfortable with that system and it wasn't who I am.  Most people, I think will agree with me on this one!

Now I promote myself!  For those friends and followers who are interested in network marketing, I can now offer a system for anyone to use, no matter what network marketing company they are in that is FREE!  I can show them that I truly do care about their success because I'm not pushing a company or specific opportunity on them!  I'm finding out their "why" and helping them move forward in their own journey, and I love that we get to do go through this journey together!

As I've found through Mentoring For Free, just as the free eBook states, you need a System That Works!  "...you need to do lead generation, prospect follow-up, sponsoring and training.  If you can do them all in one system, so much the better."  This is EXACTLY what Mentoring For Free offers everyone who chooses to use it!  Not only a system for you to use to work smarter and become more successful, but a system you can get all of your team using so as a team you are working smarter and becoming more successful together!

I've mentioned my "why's" before for doing network marketing and because I feel so passionately about them, I'll keep mentioning them!  One is to help others reach their own success.  MLM is an industry, when done right and with a 5 Pillar Company, where you not only reach your own goals and "why's", but you help others do the same over and over again!  (See http://mnicholson.5pillarstosuccess.com/ to buy the CD or ask me for the link to listen for FREE to learn what makes a 5 Pillar Company).  Pay it forward, and the best way to do this is to promote yourself and offer Mentoring For Free to anyone who wants to do network marketing.  Download your Free eBook at http://mnicholson.successin10steps.com/ and see how it will change your life and your business and your relationship with others!

I hope to hear from you and begin a journey to our success together!!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Why Work From Home? To OWN my LIFE!!!

I feel so blessed to OWN my life!  What does that mean?  Well, to me it means that I make the decisions about what I do and how I do it and have taken control so that a boss or company isn't controlling it for me!  I am working so hard, yet having fun, building a home-based business so that I call the shots.  No more worries about when I can take time off to hang out with my family.  I'm able work while the girls are sleeping because that's best for me!  The economy is so hard right now for so many people.  My eyes have been opened to network marketing...the good and the ugly!  Most importantly what I've learned is that it does work if you work at it and have a system to show you how!  If you are tired of working for someone else controlling your life and want to own your life, you can too!!

Thankfully I found Mentoring for Free early on...wish it had been about 8 months sooner, but better late than never!  And now I'm not only learning how to do it right, I've found a great 5 Pillar Company, a great team of mentors and the ability to help others...hopefully finding more people who are just getting started before being burned the way so many are in this industry.  But for those who have been burned, I can't wait to help them!  It's a GREAT industry, you just have to find that 5 Pillar Company and not one where the heavy hitters are taking advantage of you.  What is a 5 Pillar Company?  Check out http://mnicholson.5pillarstosuccess.com/ for more details and it will probably change your life the way it did mine!  I'm now moving forward with my business and feel great sharing it with others, instead of feeling stagnant and frustrated!

The past three weeks have been pretty crazy between different friends and family being in town, bar-b-ques with friends, entertaining kids for the summer, etc.  However, as busy as it's been, it's made me appreciate it all SO much more!  I love my life...I am blessed with the most amazing husband, daughters, parents and in-laws, family and friends both here in Vegas and those who live away.   I love the fact that I do work for myself now and especially now that I've found a group of mentors and a system that is there for ME...not for the top 2% to make all of the money while the rest of us are so frustrated.  Getting to spend this kind of time with family and friends reminds me of how important it is to me to work from home!

Now it's back to a week of working out and working on my business before the girls and I drive with my mom the 9 hours back to Aztec, NM.  Looking forward to hanging out with my brother and sister and their families and the girls getting to play with all of their cousins!  Then we are off to camp in Silverton, CO for the 4th of July...can't wait!  Hopefully Scott will be able to join us during his days off?!  But then we fly to Connecticut at the end of the month to visit his family, some well deserved time off for him!!

I have an amazing life, this blog is just to put it all down in writing!  My husband is so amazing, always so supportive of me and our girls...always working hard to provide the best for us.  I can't wait until I can help him in providing more income to take some of the stress off of him...and I will!!!  Our parents are always there for us and our kids, loving and supporting everything we do.  Wish we lived closer to them, but at least we get a lot of quality time with them throughout the year, and I'm SO thankful for every minute of it!  I am so thankful for all I have been blessed with.  Never take it for granted!

Sunday, June 6, 2010

It wasn't My Fault! I found the MLM Secrets!!

For those who have been following my Blog, you have seen me go through many different transitions...and I didn't start this Blog very long ago:) But this is the reason I started this Blog. I am making alterations in my life physically, mentally and even spiritually and the journey has been amazing! Definitely a lot of ups and downs...from my excitement in running my first half marathon being smashed by a knee injury; my first network marketing experience making me feel like a HUGE failure; difficulties in weight loss and seeing how great it is when you don't give up!

Well, have I got a story for you:) As I mentioned in my last Blog, I met this amazing woman named Vikki through Facebook. This is why I LOVE Facebook...I truly have met some wonderful and inspiring people. Vikki is not only inspiring, she has given me hope and the system to make my "Why" (also shared in the previous Blog) become a reality! Now, because I feel SO strongly about my "why", I wasn't going to give up and definitely won't be giving up now!

I read this free eBook that changed my life! I felt like I was a failure in my first network marketing company, but was searching for the right group of people to help me turn that around. I did! If you have tried network marketing or thought about it, but have been afraid of failure...you MUST read this! If you have been told by your upline, like I have many times, "Make a list of your friends and family. Call them up. Get 'em into the business. You need to hear 100 'No's for every 'Yes'." Guess what, they are LYING!! There are other ways that work better!

Want to know how? Read this
http://mnicholson.bigmlmsecrets.com/?mad=47999 Remember...it's FREE! I really didn't believe it at first, nothing seems to be free in network marketing...but here is something amazing! Not just a great eBook that gives you MANY "aha" moments...but a wonderful group of mentors who are there to mentor you for FREE. Doesn't matter what company you are with, they don't want to know, they just want to help you find the success in your business!

Unbelievable huh? Well, it's true and I really hope if you are feeling uneasy or like a failure or getting that bad feeling in your gut that the company you are working in just doesn't feel right to you or seem to be working to make you that residual income you want so badly, that you will read
http://mnicholson.bigmlmsecrets.com/?mad=47999

I can't wait to hear what you think:) Comments are ALWAYS welcome!! Hope you all have a wonderful week!

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Why Start My Own Home-Based Business?

This is such a huge question and one I need to always keep in front of me! Success definitely comes from within yourself. Well, not always, I mean...I couldn't be a successful professional football player no matter how much I may want to be (I don't really, but only example I could come up with at this time of night). Size for one is definitely not on my side, and the fact that I'm a 35 year old female doesn't help either! However, if you really want to accomplish something in life for yourself and be successful, YOU MUST KNOW YOUR WHY! I've heard this before, but then was sent this awesome ebook ("Success in 10 Steps Where You Learn How to Think Not What to Think by Michael Dlouhy) and started reading it tonight and it reminded me how important this really is! So thank you Vikki Lawson for sharing the ebook with me!

You really need a strong "WHY" and need it to be written down somewhere you will often see it, in order to stick to your goals. This way you keep going no matter how tough times may get. So for this blog, I wanted to share my "WHY's"!

Why I want to be successful in my home-based business:
My #1 "WHY" is definitely my family. The reason I was drawn to network marketing was to have more time with my family. I want to be able to be there for my girls, they grow up so fast! They are only 2 and 4 years old right now, I don't want to miss a thing. I also want to have a lot of time with my husband, alone and with the girls!

My #2 reason is to be able to take some of the pressure off of my husband as he has been our only income since I quit my last sales job last August. He does well enough that I am fortunate enough to not work. But I've always worked, before kids I was a work-a-holic! Always sales, but I got burned out on sales. I wanted something that would give me more flexibility to be with my family, but still give me a way to help bring in extra income and in a way that I could feel good about doing it.

My #3 reason is to help other people be successful for themselves. I would love to learn to be a great Mentor to others and the heavy hitters "sales" approach I have worked with before never felt like the right fit for me. I like the idea of a coach MUCH better! In fact, as one of my earlier blogs told, after finding myself lost in the last network marketing company because I felt their way of doing it didn't fit me and I was not successful because of it, I looked into becoming a personal trainer. I LOVE working out and learning about health and wellness. I thought that might be a great way to help others feel better and be successful...however, I realized in order to be successful I would have to work a lot of hours, therefore going against my #1 Why!

So, writing down my top 3 reasons "WHY" brings me back to network marketing. However, it's with a different company who has a different approach...Servant Leadership as they call it! The leaders and company are there to mentor you to your success to reach your "WHY". They have created a comp plan and system to help part-timers make money too, not just the top 2% leaders! Therefore, part-timers also see success. That's where I fit in for right now...long-term, I want to make a lot more money. But for now, I'm a part-timer looking to make extra money each month for my family, spend more time with my family, and build some awesome relationships with the team in my company and those who join me!

So there's my "WHY's". I've definitely put them in writing and put them out there, you can see how passionate I am about them! I'd love to hear, what's your why? Email me at mnicholsonww@yahoo.com

Friday, May 14, 2010

My Next Move!!

Ok, so in my last post I updated on how I've really been working hard on working out and watching what I eat and seeing some great results! That's just part of the transformation I've been taking in the last 4-5 months. I went through a little phase of being down about my home-based business with Zrii. I am ready to write about it, what I learned and where I'm going!

Zrii was my first try at a home-based business, I was SO excited about it and love what I learned from the people and opportunity. I am one who believes you have to try new things, sometimes they don't work out the way you'd like, but as long as you learn and grow from it...then it's TOTALLY worth it!! HMG is an amazing group of people and I did learn a great deal from them. Zrii is a great company, still love their products and what the company is all about. However, I found myself getting very frustrated in trying to grow my business. When I started, the Binary Comp plan sounded fantastic...as I got into it, it just seemed to be frustrating to me and a lot more work than I was looking for (I'll be honest, not looking to work 40+ hours a week right now...maybe in a few years).

Just a little update on my background and what brought me to home-based business...I have always been more of a work-a-holic. Then I had two beautiful baby girls who fill my life with so much joy and who made me realize time goes WAY TOO FAST! Especially seeing them grow up. I am so blessed to have a husband who has a great job and makes enough that I could take the opportunity to quit my sales job that was more stressful than enoyable at the time and have more time with my girls. I made this decision because I had got into the opportunity with the Hager Marketing Group. I thought I had found my answer! I worked really hard for the first few months, too hard...started to get away from my reason for quitting my job. I was fighting with my husband and spending way too much family time on phone calls and meetings. I had to make a decision...it was easy...my family comes first now, not work or any money that comes with it! I didn't quit Zrii, but I stopped doing the training calls and stopped talking about it as much on Facebook or to anyone and still collect paychecks, which is cool. I started to put my energy into my workouts and my family...just one thing still missing...I do want something to bring in some extra money and a little job. But it has to be from home, on my own time...not my families time...and I have to be passionate about what I'm doing!

There's an awesome video I'd also like to share. It is by Tim Sales, talking about "do most people fail in network marketing?" You can watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0--zrVzemw. I highly recommend checking it out if you have tried network marketing, are currently in it, or have just considered it!

This video really hit home with me, I didn't fail, I chose to quit the one I was doing because it wasn't feeling right for me...but I didn't quit, I kept looking for one that fit me better. I have met some amazing people in the network marketing industry who are so inspiring and who do make a great living for their families working from home and yet have more time with their families. I don't want to give up on that as something I want to do.

I have found an amazing company that I am so excited to be part of. I chose this company for a handful of reasons. One, it's a new company, only 3 months old...so great timing to get in now! Two, amazing people backing the company who are forward-thinking people and who want to make a company for the average Joe. As my mentor Travis Flaherty stated, "Revolucion was created under the premise that the average person, working part time from home can still succeed at building a future for their family. That is EXACTLY what we are seeing. More meaningful checks being paid out amongst the entire organization is what it's all about." This is for me! They have the amazing training calls everyday, mentor calls on Monday nights, product training calls on Wednesday nights. I still can't do those with the schedule my husband and I have with his job and the kids...but do you know what this company does, they record every one so you can go listen when the time is good for you to work (like after kiddos are in bed)!!! It's amazing:) Oh, and I didn't even mention that they now have Health Insurance available for their distributors (even with pre-existing conditions) and this week launched an AWESOME marketing tool like no other out there for Revolucion distributors! I'm getting trained on it this afternoon, so you will be hearing more on that!!! Still haven't said anything about their awesome products!

So as you can see from my little bit of rambling...I'm excited! I feel great from working out and keeping that a priority, I'm getting a lot of quality time with my husband and kids, and I'm excited about this opportunity I have been fortunate enough to find where I can build a home-based business that works for me! That's all for now, I'll get more info out as I continue to learn, learn, learn!!!

If you are interested in learning more about Revolucion, check out my website at www.melissanicholson.revolucionww.com for now...I'll have another one with a great video to watch after the training webinar this afternoon!!!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Watching Calories Does Work!

So it's been WAY too long since I last blogged on here...but I've had some very positive changes. I ended up finding this great app on my iPhone called Tap & Track. LOVE It! It has a lot of food already in it so you can quickly add calories and very easy to use if you want to add your own, but it not only tracks your calories, it also tracks your Excercise. So throughout the day you enter your food for calories and select your excercise, which can even be grocery shopping or vaccumming, all those things you do in your regular day that does burn calories. For the excercise you select the level from low to moderate to high. When you enter your excercise it ups the calories you can have for the day, but still lose the weight you are shooting for. I think I set mine up to lose 1 1/2 pounds per week (only can go up to 2 per week, which is good).

After doing this for a few weeks, I lost 5 pounds! I was still excercising a lot too...at least 5 days, sometimes 6 a week. But what I've learned is you really want to mix it up! I'm seeing great results from doing this and having so much fun with it! I recently started adding Spin classes to my weekly workouts, and like everyone told me, it's addicting! I think more because of how I feel after it's over...sweat A LOT, you know your burning a ton of calories, and really works your legs, butt and core! LOVE IT! So right now my weekly workout has changed to Pump Class (new release 73 is SO hard) two days a week followed by 1.5 to 2 mile run; spin 2 days followed by Piyo those 2 days for stretching; 1 day Cardio Core (let's just say torture by Mandy...but it's great for shocking your body!); and if I feel up to it for a 6th day I do the Combat class!

I am now down to 147, was at 154 on my last blog on March 1st. In between I've definitely had some bad weeks...family in town a number of times, birthday parties and Easter! But I've still managed to take the weight off and am so excited that you now can see some definition in my arms when I'm lifting...I think they call that muscle:)

I'm really happy with what's happening to my body. Of course I'd LOVE for it to come off faster and be in a size 8, but it's coming off and because of they way I'm taking off, it should stay off! 7 pounds in 9 weeks!

I've still been using the NutriiVeda shakes for breakfast and sometimes after my workouts. Still love them! But I've been changing it up some too to get other protein.

I've also made some other changes...but I'll get to that in my next blog! Stay tuned:) Life is GREAT, I have a great husband, two beautiful and funny children, wonderful and supportive family, and time to spend with them!

Monday, March 1, 2010

Working Out is not enough...Diet Time?

Ok, so it's been a long time since I posted. I am still VERY interested and excited about the possibility of becoming a personal trainer. There's just been a little set back...but for a good reason! I really want to become a personal trainer to help others learn to eat healthy and excercise, but not just for a few months and then get back to bad old habits! I want to be able to motivate and teach people to change their lifestyle. I think it's a waste of my time, their time and their money if I only help them for a few months. Now, I know from PLENTY of experience that it's difficult to always stay on track. But, if I can teach them and motivate them enough so that even when they do get off track (like I have MANY times)they will always go back to that "healthier" lifestyle...make that lifestyle the comfort zone they always go back to! Excercise and diet are both so important to the wellbeing of EVERYONE! However, how many are out there eating poorly and rarely exercising, if ever?! TOO MANY! I love the fact that personal training is growing like crazy...yes, that means a lot of competition. But I don't think we can have enough, and there will be no competition if I'm good at it and help my clients be successful in their healthy lifestyle transformation!! So, in a way, that's my Mission Statement once I get this new career kicked off.

There's a lot to do before that can happen. Right now I'm working on Step 1 - ME! I have come a long way with my workouts in the last couple of months. I'm having so much fun meeting new friends (other stay-at-home moms)at the gym 5-6 days a week. These workouts are fantastic! Monday and Wednesday we do a Body Pump class to do weight training and then I do 20-30 minutes of cardio...still running and loving it! Tuesday and Friday is Piyo, LOVE this class, it's a mixture of Pilates and Yoga and I sweat in this class almost as much as when I run 3 miles! Thursday and Saturday is Body Combat, sort of like kickboxing...also a lot of fun, but tough! So, as you can see, I've got a great workout schedule. I'm mixing it up, getting cardio, weight training and stretching and balance every week.

The Problem - not losing weight or inches! WHAT? I really thought once I put my workouts into high gear and mixed it up and still watched what I ate pretty well I'd see the weight falling off. Not the case and VERY frustrating, as you can imagine, I'm sure! I started watching my calories, looked up on a few sites to see how many calories I should eat each day to get to my goal weight of 135 and it said 1600. Still nothing watching that. I've also felt very tired and unmotivated. I have Thyroid disease in my family, sister and grandmother both have underactive thyroids, so I thought maybe that was it. I went to my doctor last week to have lab work done. Found out today it doesn't look like it's abnormal (still waiting for my doctor to look over the results, but probably normal). I was a little bummed, I don't want to take medication for thyroid, but did hope that was why I'm not losing weight. Good news...I'm very healthy:) Another good thing is after meeting my doctor I started taking a multi-vitamin for women because I realized I'm definitely not getting enough calcium (and probably other things too). I have noticed a change in my energy, not super, but SO much better than before.

The Next Plan - try doing only 1200 calories per day. I want to do it for a few weeks and see what happens...all I can think is it must be my diet. So I'll be doing 2 NutriiVeda shakes each day (they taste great, are high protein, low calorie and have great minerals and vitamins), so I'll have one for breakfast and one after my workouts. I have some great healthy recipes that I've been cooking for dinner, so we'll stick with those and have healthy snacks in between. I always say, I don't believe in dieting...I don't like telling myself I "can't" have something because then it's all I can think of. So this is not a diet, it's watching what I eat a little more closely...and on date night days, I may just go over that 1200 a little...call it my "free day". Learned that by doing Body for Life and I think it's important to be successful!

Once I get myself looking and feeling even better, I will be ready to move on to the preparation of getting certified to be a personal trainer. I think I'm learning so much throughout my own experience, that I'll feel even better when I start training others! I'm really excited to see what I can do with this...and to sharing it with those who read this! I'm going to try and post updates more frequently and share my thoughts and how I'm feeling.

Friday, February 5, 2010

Working Out, Loving It...Make a Career of it?

I'm so excited to be back in Vegas and getting back into a routine after our great trip back to New Mexico. I've really been enjoying the gym, a friend and I started going to different classes they offer at our Gold's Gym...so much fun and such GREAT workouts! We have been doing Piyo (mixture of pilates and yoga), Body Pump (all weights) and Body Combat (kickboxing). I also started running some again to test my knee, ran a mile twice after Body Pump and yesterday ran 3 miles. Knee is doing well, hopefully it stays that way. I think the classes should help, really working on building muscles that will help so I shouldn't damage or injure my knee as long as I don't push too hard or too fast.

I have had a passion for working out and eating healthy pretty much since college. Not that I've stayed focused on it all the time, but done pretty well since then. It started when I was in college, had a little too much fun eating and drinking and boy did it catch up with me! I always had a class from Freshman year on that was either aquasize or aerobics, but finally my sophmore year I started walking some and joined the local gym to step it up. I vividly remember the summer before my junior year I lived in Georgia as a nanny for my aunt and uncle and felt aweful...I was wearing a size 14. I'll never forget, one day I drove about 30 minutes to a Jenny Craig...got on the scale and it said 161 lbs. I about died, I'm only 5'5" and definitely should not be that heavy! I signed up, but on the drive home started crying and then just got pissed at myself and decided I needed to turn around and un-sign because if I couldn't do this on my own, then I would stay that size (I also really couldn't afford it as a college student and was going to have to drive that 30miles once a week:) So I did just that, turned around and told them I didn't want to do it after all. I had to keep the food, which was stupid considering I hadn't even taken it out of the bag...but whatever, I used a lot of it. I started watching my calories and really just eating healtier and walking everyday. When I got back to college in Colorado, I kept the walking going and started going to the gym for classes and workout before school. My walking slowly turned into jogging and running and loving it! I worked at the local ski resort and instead of using my 2 hour lunch break to ski once Spring hit, I ran...doesn't get any better than that, running in the beautiful Colorado mountains!

The weight came off, not right away, but it was better that way because I had completely changed my lifestyle. Now, I was still a college student, had 2 more years to go. So I was still enjoying the parties and eating Taco Bell...just not everyday and I was working out to help when I did take in too many calories. That has stuck with me ever since. There has only been two other times I got close to that size on the scale and that was when I was pregnant with each of my girls (definitely worth it). I made a lifestyle change...I tried diets, they never worked for me. If I say I can't have something, that's all I can think about eating and when I finally do I have WAY more than I should! I could definitely still do better with my eating habits, but would say overall I eat very healthy and keep the calories under control. However, if I want chocolate, I have some...if there's a dessert on the menu that looks good, I order it...to share!

I've been more of a stay-at-home mom since August. First time I'm not doing a full-time job. I really do love having so much more time with my girls, my husband and for myself. However, I am starting to get the itch to do a little more. I am now looking into getting certified as a Personal Trainer. I've had some awesome conversations with people in the industry. A really good friend of mine who has done it for a long time gave me some great ideas, so I'm really excited to really look more into it! I want to provide personal training to people who may not feel comfortable going to a gym and working out, teach them how to work out at home, or at a park with friends, etc. And teach them how to eat healthier and get results...CHANGE THEIR LIFESTYLE, not deprive themselves! It's something I can start part-time, and then when my girls are older, hopefully take it more full-time.

My opportunity with Zrii has also been part of me coming to find this possible new opportunity. I love all of the Ayurvedic principles I'm learning, it's really about mind, body and soul to live a healthy, happy and successful life. I want to also continue learning more about this and be able to incorporate that in my training. I have A LOT to learn, but want to take this passion to the next level.

A great quote: "If you are working on something exciting that you really care about, you don't have to be pushed. The vision pulls you." ~ Steve Jobs

If any of you have advice or comments, I'd love to hear from you!!

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

A Quick Update - Knee is Ready to Roll...I think!

It's been a while since I posted, but it's been an interesting few weeks. I did finally get to see my doctor about my knee MRI results, thankfully there was just minor cartilage damage and a little fluid. He definitely didn't want to do surgery (so glad to hear that, I've heard some nightmares from people who got one surgery and just had to keep getting them!). He ended up giving me a shot of some kind of thick lubricant (not fun, thankfully I had my husband there to squeeze his hands)...I need to find out the name of it because I know people will ask. Bottom line, he said it would take 2-3 weeks before I really felt the full affect of it. Right away I could notice some difference, but it's now been 4 weeks and I have had no more pain in the last week! I even sat on a plane for over an hour, twice, and no stiffness! So this week my plan is to get back to more workouts, including running! Will let you know how it goes, I'm definitely going to take it slow, start running 2-3 miles first to see how it feels!

Last week was one of those CRAZY weeks! My girls and I flew to Albuquerque, NM a week ago last Friday to meet my family and drive another 2 1/2 hours to a VERY small town called San Jon, NM for my grandmother's 80th birthday. I was SO happy I got to be there! However, it didn't start off so well. My youngest (20 months old) had a runny nose before we left, she had an ear infection about a month ago so I was afraid flying with a runny nose may bring on another...OH BOY, I had no idea! Let me just say, there's something about going there?! Last time I got to go visit the big town of San Jon, my oldest (also around 18 months then) got really sick and we had to take her to the emergency room in Tucumcari, NM...lets just say my mom and I felt like we were in the Twilight Zone! Anyway, back to this trip, my daughter didn't sleep through the night the first 3 nights...mother's instinct was telling me after the first night that this was definitely an ear infection at least in one ear, maybe both! So I'm really trying to enjoy visiting my aunts and uncles and cousins I haven't seen in over 2 years, on no sleep and just can't bare the thought of going back to that emergency room. Thankfully a cousin's wife had some ear drops that soothed her and made her feel a lot better during the day. Still no sleep for mom, but thankfully my husband was able to come and meet us earlier than expected and help and then on Tuesday I was back at my parents house in Aztec, NM where our old doctor is and got her all fixed up. Mother's instinct correct, double ear infection...poor thing:( But she's all better now, however, she did share the cold with her other cousins and everyone else. Three other cousins ended up with ear infections, and a few of us got the cold...FUN, FUN, FUN! Oh, and they got more snow in the 4-Corners area while we were there from Monday to Thursday...more than they've had in YEARS!

On a positive note...my oldest REALLY wanted to play in the snow when we got to New Mexico. SHE GOT HER WISH:) My mom and sister are both teachers, they were off from school on Monday for Martin Luther King Day and then only had to go to school one day because every other day of school was cancelled. So, we got to hang out with the family like they were all on vacation with us...but as my husband put it, it was like a petri dish we were hanging out in:) Most importantly, I got to celebrate my grandmother's 80th birthday with her and it's something I wouldn't have missed...sleep or no sleep!!

We are back in Vegas and now just trying to get back on track! Been fighting this horrible cough, but am ready to get back to the gym tomorrow. After all of my mom's baking and being snowed in...I HAVE to!!

Monday, January 4, 2010

Here's to 2010!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful New Year so far. 2009 was a great year, definitely had some rough times, but I have definitely been very blessed. I have a great husband and two beautiful girls, wonderful parents and in-laws and siblings and nieces and nephews. So even though our house is worth about $100K less than what we bought if for back in 2005 and our investments still are not back to where we started them...I am very blessed (don't ask my husband, he probably doesn't see it this way...LOL). This last year was a year of learning to appreciate what I have and who I have in my life. When it comes down to it, that is so much more important than the tangible things. I know we are a lot luckier than a lot of people out there who have lost their jobs this last year, some have lost their homes, etc. I am so thankful for who I am, what I have, and the opportunities that continue to come my way. It's what I choose to do with the opportunities that are given to me and with the people I have in my life and those I meet that I need to pay close attention!

We had a great guest speaker at our church this weekend, Bill Butterworth. Some may have heard of him, he speaks all around the country for clients like Walt Disney Company and American Express. He has written a new book called, "The Short List" and is highly recommended by John Maxwell as a speaker who brings passion and expertise no matter the topic he is discussing! He was talking about Isaiah 40, starting with verse 4:
Every valley shall be raised up,
every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
the rugged places a plain.
We need to realize maybe our high's are not quite as high as we thought and the low's really aren't that bad. One point he made fit with what I learned about appreciating who I have in my life. Bill stated, "don't hold temporal things so tightly, they are temporary things! Life isn't measured by how much you own. There are more ways to define ourselves than by what we have."

This is something I want to continue focusing on in 2010. New Year's resolution? Maybe in a way, but not just for 2010, or just the next few weeks as many resolutions go!! I plan to take each step, one at a time, learning and growing and appreciating what I have...most importantly my family and friends and the time I have to enjoy with them!

It's been a while since I last blogged, crazy holidays! So the latest on my knee, well, I'll hopefully know on Wednesday. I go back to the doctor to go over the MRI I had done. I'm really hoping I don't need any surgery, just...well, not sure what, just no surgery! I also hope it's something that I can get under control and get back to running. I REALLY miss it! I've been enjoying these HIIT encumbent bike workouts I found with weight training and mixing that with Piyo and Yoga classes, but I definitely felt like when I was running my body was really transforming and I felt great! So here's hoping. Even if it's just running 3-4 miles a few times a week. Best case, I can start training for a half-marathon again, there's one in Orange County the first weekend of May! Keep fingers crossed for me:)

Weight Loss...ummm, well let's just say I was eating lot's of sweets over the holidays! I couldn't stop:) But since I was still going to the gym and working out and having a NutriiVeda shake for breakfast, I thankfully didn't put weight back on. However, I'm doing 2 NutriiVeda shakes a day for at least this week to hopefully get rid of any inches I got back! Pants feeling a little snug after the holidays, so I'll also be measuring again!

My home-based business was put a little aside over the last couple of weeks due to a lot of company in town for the holidays. Plus it was slower, understandably, others were also very busy! I did sell to some people here in Vegas and have received great feedback from them! I also got a new website put together where people can buy product just one at a time to try it. I'm excited about the new site and hope it gets more people trying these amazing two products Zrii has to offer! The beverage has continued to help myself, my husband and two girls be healthier (knock on wood). Our colds have been very minimal and much shorter than normal and it continues to give me more energy througout the day.

Check out my site at www.melissanicholson.net and you can use a coupon for a 20% discount on your first purchase to try it, just enter coupon code FACEBOOK20. Any questions, email me at melissadmagee@yahoo.com. I'm getting a lot of response from Facebook friends looking to lose weight, the NutriiVeda shakes are great and especially if you can use them along with the beverage. We also still have the Free distributorship if you choose to purchase products at wholesale prices with a 30-day money-back gaurantee.

Guess that's enough for now, but I'll have an update on my knee soon!