FITNESS COACH AND ONE HELL OF A COOK! I LOOK FORWARD TO FLASHING MY FLASHLIGHT ON ALL AREAS THAT MADE ME STUMBLE
I welcome everyone new to Belladonna’s Flashlight and for everyone else, Thank you for staying! I hope you enjoy being apart of the fam and will continue to read and join in on discussions. I love hearing from you all. Read More
Prayer will take you a long way! Right, when you think about giving up God will grab you up and hold you tight and show you why you shouldn’t.
I’m listening to God and I believe in his power.
I hope you all let God be God and direct you on the right path.
You could have chosen to read any blog but you chose mine and I’m honored.
~Belladonna~
All she can feel is the weight of the world on her shoulders and the breath of temptation breathing heavy on her neck. She can feel the sun beating down on her skin scorching every part of her that’s exposed. When she rises, everything goes black, Read More
This world is cold and half the people that you believe care about you, really have malicious intentions. We live in a world that takes the word reality off of the map. We strive for instant gratification and praise the most peculiar behavior. Read More
It has officially been 1 year since I started this particular blog and I have been welcomed into the blog world with open arms. I have to admit that every time I write something I second guess myself. I wonder if it’s interesting enough to get you to come back and view another post. I always try to just be myself and that alone is scary.
I remember when I first started my blog I was approached by a well known public figure and he gave me THE BEST pointer. He told me if I wanted my blog to be successive then I had to remain truthful to myself. Choose topics that hit me deep in my core and then just go. Talk the way I do every day, and make sure my personality is present at all times. When he told me this I said well what if people don’t like me or what I have to say?
He responded, “Do you have friends”? “Do they like to engage with you”? “After 17 years does your husband still like you and engage with you”? But most importantly “Do you like you and find yourself interesting”? I thought fair enough!
So here we go! My content is going to be bananas this year, filled with food, diets, crafts, workouts, real talk, and my Life. I am elated to welcome you all to my world.
I know that there are thousands and thousands of blogs that you could have joined or read but you chose mine and I’m honored!
~Belladonna~
“The truth will set you free but first it’ll piss you off”. No truer words have ever been spoken. The truth will sting your soul and crush your thought process if you aren’t willing to receive it. I know that the truth is a hard pill to swallow but if growth is what you are looking for then you have to take the truth pill.
I mean think about it. How many times do we have to bump our heads and fall before we take a sit and listen to constructive criticism? How often do we have to set ourselves back 10 steps because we refused to take advice? Then when we fail, we look to those same folks for a hand or an ear. I don’t know about you but I’m so over listening to nonsense.
I have been a part of the health and fitness industry since the day I took the oath to protect and serve my country. So please believe me when I tell you I have heard every excuse in the book when it comes to fitness journeys. But the truth is if you want a healthy lifestyle bad enough you will do whatever it takes to achieve it, to win it and to own it.
The truth is you have to eat right, you have to work out, and you have to change your mindset. There aren’t any short cuts and there isn’t an easy way out. You have to stop looking for a quick fix and you have to be willing to hear the truth. No matter how painful it is to hear what you have to do to get from A to B, you have to listen and be willing to execute.
I have had the truth hit me in the stomach like a ton of bricks. Did I like it? Hell no! It pissed me off because it hurt. It hurt my pride and for short while my self-esteem. But in the end, the truth saved my life and I will never forget that moment.
Here I am in the summer of 1994, I thought I was prepared for the military, my eating and work out habits were amazing. I felt like I was gaining strength internally as well as externally. But to my surprise, I had an abundant amount to improve on.
My first week in the military my drill sergeants did not hesitate to tell me that they thought I was weak. My heart dropped when they told me that. But they weren’t done. I was told that I wouldn’t last because I couldn’t do more than 4 push-ups in a row, I didn’t stand up for myself against some of the other soldiers in my platoon I was to quiet and I hid behind everyone else. Try swallowing that!
They pissed me off because the truth tore me up. Here I am 18 years old in South Carolina all by myself and receiving truths about me that I didn’t want to hear. I couldn’t run from it, I had to deal with it. And That’s just what I did. When the lights went out at 2100 hours I was up doing pushups, holding my planks and mentally connecting with myself. By the end of boot camp I dared anyone to even think about giving me a cross look. I was still quiet because that’s just who I am. I’m more of a listener than a talker. That’s just something that can’t be changed by my courage can and was.
Because I was able to accept the truth I became a platoon leader, push-up queen, and one badass motha…shut yo mouth.
I’ll never forget Drill Sergeant Henry and Drill Sergeant Jellen. They saved me, by exposing strength that I didn’t know I had. I allowed their truth to piss me off so that I could gain my freedom!
Is it time for you to get pissed off?
You could have chosen any blog to read but you chose mine and I’m honored.
~Belladonna~
Last week I embarked on a journey that is sure to change my life. I started Transform 20 and let me tell you, it might only be 20 minutes but you are down in it without any breaks. A modification is encouraged if you need a break, BUT don’t STOP!
Shaun T is the creator of this workout so you know you are going to be rolling your eyes and wanting to kick over the TV.
Or is that just me?
I Have to admit that I have a Love, Hate relationship with that man. He will push you and I swear I am cursing him out the entire time. I remember the first that I worked out to his Insanity program I thought to myself, this man has lost his mind. But I quickly became hooked. Insanity helped me get into the best shape of my life. My last baby was turning 2 and I was determined to tweak this crickety body back to what it once was. Shockingly I was able to accomplish my goal with hard work and a kick butt nutrition plan.
So then life happened and homegirl put back on some unwanted pounds but I had fun doing it. Zero regrets because I am blessed to be able to move and go back to where I was. But the sad fact is……I’m older, which means my metabolism died. Okay maybe it didn’t die. But it definitely had one foot in the grave.
I am depending on Shaun T to save me and my clients. Shaun T pushes me to be my best and then I return push my clients. Well most of them, my older clients would run me over if I tried Transform 20 with them.
Here is a sneak peak of the 1st week of the program. If you like what you see and would like to change your body with me then leave me your email/phone number.
You could have chosen any blog to read but you chose mine and I’m honored!
~Belladonna~
It’s a New Year and the beginning of the rest of your life. I don’t know about you but I love January 1st. This is my chance to refocus and reconnect with things and people that I am passionate about. I can brush up my visionary board and look at the things that I accomplished and things that still are waiting patiently for me to get to.
What are some of the things you want to accomplish this year? Please let me know and remember that nothing is too big or out of reach. Dream BIG and work HARD. If you have anyone in your life that doesn’t fit into those plans then politely boot them to the curb and move ahead.
This is your time to be great and to give thanks to God for blessing you with another moment. Another day. Another year. Make use of your time an dive into your passion…NO EXCUSES! Don’t waste time thinking about your plan too much because you will find that you have talked yourself right out of your dreams and aspirations. Trust me, I have done this many times and I learned the hard way. I have had plans then slowly told myself not today, not right now.
On this day January 1st, 2019, I tell myself why not today, why not right now, why not me! I am my biggest cheerleader and my biggest dream killer. I over think and suffer because I put myself on the back burner. But in 2018 I started living for Kelli and what she wants to do. Best decision I ever made. I planted seeds like it wasn’t nobodies business. Sometimes I felt like I was all over the place but I listened to God and just moved according to his plan.
2019 I welcome you with my head held high, arms reaching out to grab my blessings and a heart filled with praise.
I’m ready yall!
You could have chosen any blog to read but you chose mine and Im honored!
~BellaDonna~
