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Overview
Katrina Scott and Karena Dawn, the founders of the Tone It Up fitness and health brand, have taken the world by storm with their fun, energetic, girlfriend-to-girlfriend approach to getting in shape. To them, being fit isn't just about looking smokin' hot in a bikini, but a whole-body, whole-life way of being that starts with respecting your body and taking care of your beautiful, amazing self, inside and out. With their 28-day program that incorporates brand-new fitness routines, delicious recipes, and mental and spiritual practices, you'll transform your body, your attitude, and your life to bring out the gorgeous goddess within you!
In just 28 days, Katrina and Karena will help you get:
- FIT. With daily fitness challenges, workout plans, healthy-eating tips, and delicious recipes, you'll be on your way to the strong, sexy body you're after.
- FIERCE. You'll align your mind and body through visualization exercises, daily meditations, confidence-boosting tips, and dares to move outside your comfort zone.
- FABULOUS. This is the fun stuff: beauty, friendship, inspiration, joy, and all the things to give you that unmistakable glow so you radiate from the inside out!
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781623365707 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Harmony/Rodale |
| Publication date: | 05/05/2015 |
| Sold by: | Random House |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 288 |
| File size: | 37 MB |
| Note: | This product may take a few minutes to download. |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Part 1
Becoming Fit, Fierce, and Fabulous
Quick: What do you think of when we say the word fit? Having a toned booty? Killer abs, sleek arms, sexy legs? Absolutely, those are all part of what you get when you commit to being fit, and you'll achieve those (and more!) over the next 28 days.
But being fit goes way beyond looking smokin' hot in a bikini. Working out isn't just about vanity. It's about building confidence and how you take that into the rest of your life. True fitness is so much more than just the shape of your booty or the flatness of your abs, or even how fast you can run. It's a whole-body, whole-life way of being that comes from respecting your body and making the unshakable commitment to take care of your beautiful, amazing self, inside and out.
Being fit allows you to feel strong and sexy in your skin. When you're in shape and healthy, life is just so much sweeter, because you can be the spontaneous, always-ready-for-adventure babe that you are! You can do all the things you want to do in life, from dancing all night with your BFFs to trying a new exercise class you might never have dared to before. And let's not forget how much fun it is to be able to rock your favorite pair of jeans! When you're fit, you feel good expressing yourself in the clothes you wear, and as you know, that's a big deal for us as women.
In the days to come, through your BE FIT workouts and your new healthy eating plan, you're going to see some incredible changes in how you look. That's a promise! Your entire body will tighten and tone, and your skin will glow. But even more astonishing will be how you feel. You'll wake up with a clear mind and energy that's off the charts. You'll feel fan- frickin'-tastic, ready and raring to take on any challenge life throws your way!
The most amazing thing about fitness is how it transforms your mind-set. It ignites the fearlessness within you and empowers you to dream big and live boldly. You can flaunt, flirt, and freely express yourself. No more hiding, no more feeling self-conscious, no more holding back. Imagine the power in that! You may not know it yet, but you are a fierce lioness, filled with daring and confidence. All we need to do is awaken and unleash it! And that's exactly what you're going to do with the BE FIERCE Challenges in this program.
One last piece of the story is every bit as important as being fit in body and fierce in mind, and it is sparked by lighting up all the beauty that lives in your heart and soul. That's the essence of fabulous! Fun, friendship, laughter, creativity, generosity . . . these things give you that unmistakable glow. Being fabulous is all about taking good care of yourself and your inner universe so you can joyfully share your beautiful, loving, happy self with the world. With each BE FABULOUS Challenge you take on over the next 4 weeks, you'll become even more gorgeous and radiant.
Your whole life is about to change on every level. It starts with what you see in the mirror, then expands to how you feel and think about yourself, ultimately rippling out to how you light up from within and live your biggest, most fulfilling, most spectacular life. You're about to become a Fit, Fierce, and Fabulous goddess!
Our Stories
Neither of us just woke up one day and found ourselves living a Fit, Fierce, and Fabulous life. Just like you, this was something we had to make happen within and for ourselves! We've had our fair share of struggles with body image, confidence, and more, and we both discovered the power of fitness to transform our lives. We want to share our stories here with you, so you can see that when we say we get what it takes to make big changes from within, we REALLY get it!
Karena's Story
Fitness saved me. That's a bold statement, and it's really true. It showed me what I was capable of at a time in my life when I was convinced the answer was "nothing."
My teenage years were pretty rough. Life at home was complicated, and I kind of gave up on myself, on my career goals, and on the idea that I could ever accomplish anything. I found myself on an unhealthy path to self- destruction, eating crappy food and basically treating myself terribly. Seeking an escape from the anger and misery inside me, I turned to drugs. I'm far from proud to admit that I believed that magic mushrooms and ecstasy would deliver what their names implied. Of course they didn't, and I continued to search for the substance that would enable me to escape my reality, only to find myself digging a deeper hole. I may have appeared to be in good physical shape, but I certainly wasn't healthy on the inside, and my poor outlook and even poorer lifestyle choices showed in my dull skin and eyes that had lost their luster. The stress I was creating in my system eventually caused my body to break out in dry, flaky rashes all over. It was ugly and embarrassing, and I hid under layers so no one would see.
Eventually I found myself at a breaking point. After a doctor suggested I go to therapy and start doing yoga to relax, I got the message that I needed to make a change. I was unhappy and unhealthy, but I didn't want to be. I was tired of being depressed. I knew that I was facing one of only two choices: I could stay as I was and continue on this path to a life darkened by addiction and failure, or I could find the strength to overcome my past and break free of being a victim. Deep down, I knew I wasn't meant to give up on my life just yet. I finally got it that no one else had the power to make me happy or make me feel strong and confident; I needed to take control of my life and do it for myself. So I chose the harder route and began the work to free myself of the past and find the good life I was meant to live.
I thought back to the time in my life when I was happiest, as a kid, and what brought me joy. I'd always been interested in health and fitness, and I remembered running half-marathons with my dad and loving the feeling of freedom it gave me, so I decided to sign up for a triathlon. It was scary, for sure. I'd never pursued anything like that before with all my heart, because I'd always been sure I would fail, but I signed up anyway. It was make-or-break time, and I needed to prove something to myself.
It was intense and hard, and more than once I thought about backing out. Right up until the morning of the race, I was terrified. But I just kept telling myself, "You can do this. You're not a quitter anymore." No matter how much I didn't want to jump into the ice-cold ocean water, tie up my laces, or push through the last mile, I was determined. I knew that when I got through it, I would feel invincible. So I stuck to the promise I made myself and kept going--not without fear or doubt, but despite it. I overcame through the sheer act of doing.
I started crying when I crossed the finish line. In that moment, I knew I was beginning a whole new phase of my life. I finally believed I could do something. Scratch that: I finally believed I had the power to do anything I set my mind to!
After that, I started racing and competing in more triathlons. I got into personal training; began working as a sports and fitness model and an on- camera spokesperson for major brands like Oakley, Adidas, and New Balance; and appeared in magazines like Runner's World, Triathlete (on the covers!), Shape, Women's Health, and Self. I found myself traveling the world, living this incredible life, doing what I loved. But I still knew there was more for me to accomplish. I wanted to use my life experiences to inspire other women to go after what they want and show them that--just like I learned-- they're capable of anything and everything. I wasn't quite sure yet how I'd get there, but I knew that I would if I continued to believe in myself, do good work, and keep the vision of my dream alive.
In 2008 I moved to Manhattan Beach from nearby Marina del Rey after a tough decision to end a long-term love relationship. I was in a good place and excited about all the possibilities that might open up to me in this new phase of my life. That's exactly when Kat and I crossed paths. We discovered that we shared the same goals and dreams, and that first spark of "We can do something amazing together!" was lit. I'm going to let Kat tell you the rest of that story, so you can first hear everything from her end of what led her to that fateful, fantastic day when I met my beautiful, brilliant BFF and business partner!
Katrina's Story
Karena always says fitness saved her, and in a way I guess it saved me too-- only under very different circumstances.
When I was 11 years old, I was about 20 £ds overweight. That was a pretty unhappy time in my life. I would hide on the sidelines at recess, watching everyone else having fun on the monkey bars and playing sports. If I tried to partake, they would literally laugh at me. No boys ever talked to me, and if they did, it was either to tease me about my weight or to ask me to deliver a note to my pretty and popular neighbor. I remember one girl telling me I wouldn't have any friends the next year in middle school because I was fat. I wasn't actually aware of the number on the scale back then. All I knew was that I couldn't wear the cute overalls that were in style at the time; the ones I'd bought hung in my closet, unworn. Let's just say they weren't that flattering on me, and deep down, I knew it. I didn't want to risk being laughed at any more than I already was.
I remember so clearly the day everything changed for me. I went shopping with my mom at 579, a clothing store specifically for juniors. As I was looking around, a saleswoman came over to us and said they didn't have anything there that would fit me. My mom was horrified. She'd always told me I was beautiful, and when the saleswoman implied that I was overweight, my mom looked at me with tears in her eyes, so worried that this woman had revealed something I didn't know. I knew my mom wanted to protect me, and it upset me to see her so sad about what had happened. But I'd known for a long time that I wasn't like everyone else. I went home that night and just cried and cried and cried. I was upset with myself and embarrassed that my mom had to witness what I went through every day with other kids at school.
But that fateful day was the turning point. I never, ever wanted to feel that way again, and I knew it was time to do something about it. The shame I felt that day turned out to be the motivation I needed to take control of my weight and health. Not for anyone else, but for my own confidence and happiness.
I started slowly, going for short runs in my neighborhood. Not long after, my dad asked if there was anything he could do to help me, and I had the answer ready: I wanted a treadmill and equipment to work out at home. My parents always supported me 100 percent in whatever I did, so my dad transformed our basement into a home gym for me. I ran every day and did exercise moves from fitness magazines. My grandma got me a nutrition book, and my mom let me start choosing the foods I ate. I lost about 15 £ds that summer, knowing that starting a new middle school that fall was my chance to start over. When I walked into the school that first day of seventh grade, kids from my old school barely recognized me. I went out of my way to talk to everyone and made lots of new friends. My newfound sense of confidence had profoundly changed me--and my life--for the better.
My interest in taking care of myself continued through high school, when I joined the tennis team, worked at a nutrition store where I learned all about vitamins and supplements, and started experimenting more with healthy cooking.
I knew I wanted to make fitness my life's work, so in college I studied health promotion and fitness, with a special focus on exercise physiology, sports nutrition, and training.
After graduating with my bachelor's degree in fitness plus every other certification I could scoop up in health and nutrition, I started working as a personal trainer in Boston. But it wasn't all smooth sailing from there. Sadly, my teachings and my habits weren't lining up, and I learned a hard lesson. I was so focused on my clients that I stopped focusing on myself, and in 1 year, I gained 26 £ds!
I started journaling to figure out what was going on. Journaling keeps us honest; it's easy to say "I'm healthy, I exercise," but when you write it down and see what you actually did and ate, things might look different than you'd imagined. I asked myself the same hard questions I'd ask my clients: "What is holding you back every morning from exercising, really and truly? Why did you make certain choices, like having an entire weekend of unhealthy eating? If you could do anything at all in the next 2 months, what would it be--and why aren't you living it now?"