Now is the time our Instagram and Facebook feeds fill with pictures of happy graduates, barbecues, and lots of outdoor fun. That's right...it's summertime!
Is your summer body ready?
If I may get personal for a moment and introduce myself, my name is Karina and I am Wish Rock Relaxation's social media maven and occasional blogger. I'm distinguishing myself from our dear "Top Rock," Joanna, for one big reason on this post. Joanna rocks at staying active! She is a busy CEO and mom to two beautiful girls, and still manages to swim every morning, climb mountains AND, if you're not tired enough just reading that, she also makes time for the gym and to eat healthy every day.
She is a rock star.
Then there's me, who enjoys the simpler life. Creating social media posts, of course, reading a great book, fighting a sedentary lifestyle that has unfortunately ended up with having chronic fatigue syndrome and taking naps, lots of naps. Needless to say, I have some work to do, in particular on this body of mine! Working closely with Joanna has given me so much inspiration to get healthier in mind, body, and spirit.
So when she introduced me to The Happy Body Program by Aniela and Jerzy Gregorek, I immediately headed over to Amazon and bought the book.
First of all I love the title and image it projects, because how many people are truly happy with their body? I know people in what I would consider great shape who still want to tone up or change something about their body. Or think about that one picture you have of yourself 10 years ago and you hated because you thought you could lose a few pounds, and now look at it like you would love to look like that again. And now imagine being truly comfortable in your own skin, perfectly happy!
#Goals am I right?!
The Creators
Jerzy and his wife Aniela moved to the States from Poland as political refugees, with a dream to improve the health and lives of themselves and others. Both have won World Weightlifting Championships and have broken world records. Jerzy and Aniela began personal training, their approach different than the average trainers.
Their program has 3 major points of focus: Nutrition, Exercise, and Relaxation.
Relaxation? Well didn'tcha know that's our favorite thing ever!
The Program
Here's a loose description of the program:
Nutrition: The plan here is simple, 3 snacks and 2 meals, eating every 2-3 hours. No obsessive measuring here, and you are still able to incorporate some favorites such as bread, sugar, chocolate, meat, potatoes, rice, beans, coffee, and alcohol.
Exercise: Great news, you can get off the treadmill! The Happy Body does not endorse endless amounts of cardio. Jerzy in fact says "The original treadmills were used to punish prisoners. Exercise should not be punishment. The more you run, the weaker and less flexible you become." They've laid out a very simple plan you can do right from home in 30-45 minutes! I've been watching the YouTube testimonials and let me tell you, this plan is effective for men, women, young and old. And everyone gets great results!
Relaxation: The final reason why people lose weight and gain it back is that they never time find for relaxation. Exercising and jumping headfirst into your day is actually really bad for you. The reason why is that it causes you to burn sugar and muscle for energy. However, when you take time to relax in between you will burn fat. The Happy Body Program relaxes you both during and after exercising.
If you're like me, you love researching new plans which mostly includes an exhaustive search of testimonials and before and after photos. I need it for motivation! The good news, as I previously mentioned, YouTube has over 50 testimonial videos to check out. And you will see people from all walks of life who have been successful with this program. Not only that, but the book is full of testimonials throughout, people who have overcome mid-life crisis, beat fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue, all while toning up, strengthening their back/posture, and regaining their lives.
Stay tuned, we will check in from time to time with updates on our journey!
As a final note on that summer body, it must be said that truly every program out there works. It can be so overwhelming to look into several, because there are conflicting diet and exercise tips in each plan. My advice is to select one and ignore the rest. Every body is different just as every plan is different. Find what works for you and flat out ignore every Tom, Dick, and Mary who comes to you with advice. Everyone knows "a better way," or the way that "worked wonders for my great aunt Sally."
Here's the secret: All that matters is your mind. Your mind has to be strong enough and dedicated to see one plan through. As in, without stopping after 2-4 weeks because you only lost 2 pounds and were hoping for a miraculous 10-15. Stick with it, stay the course. You will see results! As for us, the Happy Body is it. For life.
Now, please, abandon all self consciousness, because you are beautiful no matter what stage of weight loss you are in. Wear what makes you comfortable. Do you. Don't judge others. We are all about spreading the love this summer at Wish Rock Relaxation!
