Hey there friends and followers. I just wanted share this video message with you to let you know a little bit more about myself, my journey, and what I get to do everyday as a coach.
I sincerely appreciate you following our page and our blog. I would love to hear from you and get to know you a little bit better. What are your dreams? What is your passion? What is your purpose? I love helping people answer those questions and really dig deep down to find the answers.
Here's the thing friends. Health doesn't necessarily come easy in the society we live in today. We are constantly bombarded with temptations of food that will make you sick and fat. You likely go to a job that encourages you to sit in a chair for 8+ hours a day on top of sitting in a car both ways. You come home exhausted from poor food choices and lack of movement and that leads to more poor food choices, then it's taking care of the kids, then you are really wiped out, so you settle in front of the TV for the night. Then you get to do all that again the next day.
When it comes to health, YOU HAVE TO PAY!!! You have to do some tough things at some point. If you are under 50, those things might be:
So ask yourself how much sacrifice are you willing to make today so you don't have to deal with those things later in life? If you've already made some of these sacrifices, we would love to hear what they were and how you created healthy habits around them. Your ideas will help others out, so we encourage you to share. Thanks friends!
Middle child. Shy. Insecure. Acne. Bean pole.
Sure...we're all awkward in our teen years but some of us have it worse than others. I think back to my middle school/high school years and I don't really have a fondness for them. There is a lot of cruelty that happens at such a sensitive age...when all we want is to be accepted, loved and feel like we belong. Don't get me wrong, my family was incredible and I had the most amazing, loving and supportive parents...not to mention a few great friends who lifted me up and made me feel like all of those things. BUT, I can still feel the sting of rejection...the pain of hurt feelings and also cruel words. These experiences have formed who I am today and how I relate to people and empathize. I realize you may not believe me...but having acne is a lot like being overweight in the sense you feel uncomfortable going out in public, you don't want anyone to look at you, nothing can cover it up, it can leave you scarred mentally and physically and you just do NOT feel comfortable in your own skin. Looking in mirrors is just miserable and don't even get me started on pictures. It was hard enough just looking through these old pictures and these weren't even when it was the worst! My point to all of this...I could still be dwelling on the things that happened. The way I was treated. The things people said...and YES, it's been 18 years since I was in the middle of it (whoa..has it been that long??!)...but honestly what good would that do?? It would make ME miserable and it would have kept me stuck exactly where I was. I want to encourage you to learn from your past and then GIVE IT UP. Give it to God. You can't do it alone. Also stop allowing yourself to believe that your worth is wrapped up in any of it. It's not. Your worth comes from the ONE who created you. There is only one person that can free you from the hurt, the disappointments and the pain that human relationships can often cause...and His name is Jesus. He wants to do EXTRAORDINARY things in you...and through you! And the hope that he gives...oh yes...the HOPE he gives is one of the most amazing things. Remember this: "God is working in you something bigger than you, and He will carry, help, comfort, encourage, lead, lift, soothe, prod, refine, break, and build you back up to help you walk on His narrow path...if you follow Him." - Lara Casey
We wanted to respond to the video that got massive attention last week. We don't even want to link to it but if you are so inclined to watch it you can find it by typing "Dear Fat People" into a Google search. The person that created the video is a comedian so you should take everything she says with a grain of salt. That said her basic premise was if we shame "fat people" enough that they will feel so bad that they decide to change. Makes perfect sense, right??? If someone is in enough pain, they will clearly choose to do something different. The problem with her argument lies in the physiological component to being overweight. She clearly has no training in anything and she just thinks that if people eat less and exercise more, presto change-o they become skinny.
Just to be clear, we should probably just blatantly say it out front, shaming people is an absolutely horrible way of treating people and it does NOT get results. This video also brings up the the topic that goes viral every other month or so of #loveyourself and "body positive" blogs that are out there. This is always a tricky subject to us especially since we are in the business of helping people get healthy and lose weight. This is where we want to dive in a little deeper...along with giving you a strategy to navigate your own health and weight loss. Within the "body positive" movement there is a theme of loving yourself for who you are whether you are fat or skinny. No matter your shape or size you should be ok with that and embrace who you are, #loveyourself. We totally agree with this...but what if we asked ourselves this: "Can you love yourself for who you are, and still try to improve yourself?"
The question itself is contradictory in nature. Why do you need to change if you love who you are? This is where some people in the "body positive" movement lose us. They take that thought and solely stick to the love yourself side of it. Thinking "I'm good enough the way I am and I don't need to improve". (For a little more reading on change and being "good enough" you can check out another post of ours where we talk about that exact topic, The "Good Enough" Principle - Ambivalence!) There are some in that movement that are certainly trying to improve their body composition and health. There are also people tucked away in a shack in Mississippi that are oblivious to all of this, they are "fat" and just don't care. I safely say that because those people probably don't have the internet and will never read this!
The graphic below is really helpful in helping distinguish where you might fall in your own personal health. We know that these categories aren't perfect and you may find some overlap in your current situation. We believe that everyone should be on an active journey to improve themselves AND that you can and should love where you are at currently. In fact we think in order to move forward in your health and fitness it has to be done out of love for yourself and wanting the best for yourself. In order to do that you need to take a good assessment of where you currently are though. Ask anyone that has navigated using a map and compass, the most important thing to know is to know your current location. That means getting honest with yourself and asking some tough questions...
This graphic and our descriptions might also help you understand that not all "skinny" and "fat" people will be in the same categories. Often times skinny healthy people just assume all overweight people are lazy and uneducated. Also skinny people are often thought to be healthy solely based on their body size, which we know isn't true. We breakdown these categories a little more below to bring clarity to these stereotypes.
So before we dive into each of these descriptions you should know why we chose Aware and Willing as the category headings and what they mean. By saying aware, we mean that people that fall into this category are knowledgeable with what it takes to be healthy. The science of what it takes to be healthy is constantly changing and there is new information coming out all the time. People in this category follow that information and know what it takes to improve their health and/or lose weight. By saying willing, we refer to the people that make an effort to do what they think or know is right.
Aware & Willing
They are "aware" of what it actually takes to be healthy and are "willing" to prioritize the things it takes to improve their health. It is because of this that this section of people are generally in good physical shape and generally healthy. This group doesn't have to be physically fit, but more importantly actively working towards improving their current situation. They actively seek out the latest in health trends and science to see what works best for them. They have made a commitment to their health and may even work in the industry.
Aware & Unwilling
This group is "aware" of what they need to do to improve their current health situation but have yet to make it a priority in their daily habits. There is a sense of ambivalence. They know why they should change and the benefits. They even know what they need to do in order to create a change. However they have a pull to keep things as they are. Change is hard. They may not have the support system in place that will support them if they start making changes. They may have a stubborn husband that enjoys his pizza and pasta, or coworkers that frequently go out for happy hour. They may feel they will be outcast by these people if they start making different decisions.
This group will likely not make a change until their health begins to affect something that they currently find a bigger priority. An example would be a mother with a toddler or young children that values time with her family above all else. Her kids are constantly wearing her out with all of their activities to the point where she can't keep up anymore. That may be the breaking point for her where she decides she needs to get in better shape. Unaware & Willing
This group makes up the biggest group of people from my experience. They all want to be healthy and even go to the effort of eating what they think is healthy food and working out in a way they think will improve their health but may or may not be seeing results. This group reminds us of the saying, "Work smarter, not harder!" This group hasn't quite figured that out yet.
Common things we hear from people that would fall into this category are;
This group of people, as stated in the chart, will likely cook a lot of homemade meals..but those meals will likely be comprised of packaged goods and will be heavy on the starches and unhealthy fats and low in protein. If we could sum this group up in one thought it would be... We eat "healthy" cereal for breakfast group. How do people move out of this group? It mainly comes through education from credible and current sources to formulate a plan that's going to work for them. The key there is individualized plan because what works for one doesn't work for all. One of the most common things we see here is with running. Often times runners are inherently skinny. We can say that because we both were former runners and both were skinny prior to starting our running careers. People from this group see skinny runners and think that running must have made them skinny, therefore they should run to get skinny. This would be like saying playing basketball makes you tall. Yes, running will work for some but it isn't the best way to lose weight in a healthy way for a majority of people. If you fall into this group and are curious about some resources that we have used to learn more about nutrition and exercise, we would love to share some of those with you. Just comment below or send us an email. Unaware & Unwilling
This group unfortunately makes up a decent percentage of our population. People in this group tend to have never done any research into health or nutrition other than what a doctor or the media may have told them. They may know that certain things like sugar and fast food are bad for them but fail to connect what they are eating to how they FEEL and their overall health. They may know exercise is important but their knowledge of what to do might be rooted in what they did in junior high gym class 30 years ago. The fate of people in this group usually tends to be more grim than positive. These people will likely battle chronic disease throughout their lifetime and will likely struggle with being overweight.
Thankfully people in this group can reverse the course they are on. It usually takes a friend or family member to intervene. Unfortunately it might take a health issue to force people to change. If you know someone in this group, reach out to them let them know you care and love them for who they are right now as they are! Where Are You Right Now?
The reason we wanted to write this post was because we want to share a BETTER strategy for losing weight than shaming someone. With that, we also want to put the focus on HEALTH because skinny doesn't mean healthy and carrying a little extra weight doesn't mean unhealthy. We do believe that we should all love, yet acknowledge where we are with our health, and actively be trying to improve upon it.
This world is going to bombard us with toxic things that harm our body and deteriorate our health. We will also face toxic things mentally that will try to break our will, lessen our belief in ourselves, and crush our dreams. That is why we need to constantly be working to improve our current situation because we just don't know what might try to trip us up next. If this post inspired you to make a change we would love to hear from you. If you need someone to just talk with about your current situation we are here for you!!
Each day we get a chance to start over...new beginnings. Here are a few ways we like to live on PURPOSE:
Live EVERY day. Don't just go through the motions!!
Definition of Ambivalence: The coexistence within an individual of positive and negative feelings towards the same action, person or object drawing him or her in opposite directions.
Or as I like to think of it... The "Good Enough" Principle! "I could change the way I eat...but I'm not as overweight as some people I see, and my health is OK for now." "I know I should exercise more but I'm in pretty good shape. I never really see any changes when I start doing it anyway, plus I just don't have the time." Ever have thoughts like that? Yep, I did too at one point and still do to some degree. Let's be honest, change is hard. It introduces unknowns into our world and we aren't sure how we will manage them or how exactly they will change our lives. We know that eating healthier and exercising regularly will improve our health and make us feel better, so why don't more people do it??? I definitely think it's because people are ambivalent or the idea that we are "good enough." In the fitness world or at least the blogofitnesssphere, yeah I just made that up, you hear people say all the time: don't compare yourself to the magazine cover models or the actresses you see on TV. Since I live in the blogofitnesssphere, I completely agree with that statement. You shouldn't compare your day 1 with someone else's day 365. What about comparing yourself though on day 1 to someone who is on day negative 365? What I mean by negative 365 is the person that is obese or maybe morbidly obese or the person that has type II diabetes. They've been going down the "negative" path a lot longer than you. That one doesn't get talked about enough but I think people subconsciously do it all the time. You are ok not having the cover model figure but AT LEAST you aren't as bad as the person you saw at the grocery store today or your overweight uncle Frank. Sorry to any uncle Franks out there. Are you in that place? Be honest! Do you catch yourself saying things like "I would never want to be that skinny" or "I never want to have muscles like him/her." What you are really saying is I'm good enough and what you are likely doing is comparing yourself to the person that is on day negative 365 not the skinny or muscular person. I'm not saying you shouldn't love who you are and where you are right now! You should however give yourself an honest assessment of where you are at this particular moment. The idea of "good enough" is aimed at the thoughts that you have that you shouldn't be trying to improve yourself. If you're not improving yourself and moving forward, you're most likely going backwards. There are just too many things in our society today that will slowly compound over time to wear down your health and cause you to pack on the pounds. I'm talking about things like stress, environmental toxins, processed foods, and constant sitting and inactivity. Those things over the course of a lifetime will cause you to become sick and overweight. It won't likely happen in a month or even year, but 20 or 30 years from now the choices you are making TODAY will have an impact. If you are ready to leave the world of ambivalence and start making decisions that will actively improve your health and mental well-being, we would love to help with that. Our online accountability groups have been able to help hundreds of people step out of ambivalence and help them take control of their life and health. For more information on these groups you can go to our Challenge Group Page or Email Us and we would be happy to share some info.
So this is a topic that comes up a ton for us in our Challenge Groups and some of our coach's challenge groups so I wanted to just put together a video on the subject of Calorie Deficit Diets.
There is so much bad information out there about how to lose weight. Unfortunately the magazines and talking heads out there preach an unhealthy way of losing weight, cut calories, whether that be through appetite suppression pills or powders or just by telling people to be hungry all the time. So this is my effort to raise the volume on the other side and I would argue the healthy way to burn fat. I probably don't have to argue that point since there is science to back me up. If this message resonates with you please share it so that your friends might hear it and understand that there is a better and healthier way to lose weight. We can't change everyone's mindset on this but hopefully we can at least start building some curiosity in a few people's minds.
Written by Danielle Lochow with Take Charge Fitness
***IF THIS POST HELPS YOU, LIKE IT!! IF YOU THINK IT WOULD HELP A FRIEND, SHARE IT!!***
Now that I have all that shouting out of the way allow me to present to you these photos. I've been doing a LOT of thinking lately about calories and pounds and maintaining weight and how my own journey with fitness and food and weight has evolved over time. These are pics from every day this week. As you can see, I weighed in different each time I stepped on the scale. My weight fluctuated five entire pounds within a couple days. Why is this??? Did I gain? Did I then lose? And then gain again? If you struggle with trying to make the scale come up with that one special number, please know that your weight will change based on...
And any other number of things. It is physically impossible to gain five pounds in a day or two. It's also impossible to gain it in a WEEK. Why do I share this? Because I know that for some people this relationship with the scale is a negative thing. It has a negative impact on their life. When I decided I wanted to lose weight I strictly counted calories. I tracked my calories religiously in MFP (My Fitness Pal). I weighed every Friday morning and when I got to record a loss it was FABULOUS. It was working!! For the first time in my life this weight loss thing was working. I eventually met my weight loss goal when I saw that number I wanted to see. And then I knew that I could keep tracking calories and keep weighing that number. Understand that when I was religiously tracking, I didn't always necessarily care WHAT the calories came from. 400 calories from a salad was the same to me as 400 calories from a sandwich cookie. I learned very quickly that tracking to only net around 1500 calories (that's what mfp says a person of my height and weight should eat to maintain) was kind of unsustainable. And I hadn't figured out yet that fluctuation in weight is NORMAL. So it was making me crazy. If I went a couple hundred calories over one day, and weighed a half pound heavier the next day, I thought I knew exactly why. Too many calories. So dumb guys. So dumb. Eventually I got plugged in with a great fitness community online and started learning about how to clean up my diet. I leaned that the quality of food is important and that even if something is higher in calories it doesn't mean it's unhealthy, or that it will make me gain weight. And I learned that if I do see a "gain" it's probably any number of things my body is doing that has nothing to do with a couple hundred "extra" calories. I weigh myself randomly. Sometimes it's once a month, other times it's every day for a week but gaining confidence in my diet and my habits, growing in my physical strength and understanding more about how bodies work gives me SUCH FREEDOM AND PEACE. I am not married to my special number. I admit to being interested to seeing how it fluctuates and know why it does, but it cannot and will not ever bother me like it once did because I have confidence and faith in my daily habits! Bottom line is this: your number does not have to define you. No one sees a number when they look at you. When you follow a lifestyle that is rich in healthy, nourishing foods, regular exercise and movement, and you are surrounded by people who encourage you to live your best life every day...you will not need to stress about maintaining weight. People always say that maintaining weight is harder than losing it, and that may be true but ONLY if you are looking at it as though once you hit your number you all of a sudden want to go back to bad habits that got you heavier in the first place. When you are COMMITTED to living healthy, your healthy weight will find you. And you will be FREE of your number. If you like what you've read we encourage you to follow Danielle on Facebook at Take Charge Fitness or you can email her directly.
July 16th - 19th we packed our bags, left Eli with my parent's and headed to Nashville, TN to spend 4 whole days with our Beachbody family...to say we were excited was a bit of an understatement!
This event is something we look forward to every single year for quite a few different reasons:
I won't bore you with all the details of what we did since I have pictures of most of it...but to summarize: there were workouts with Shaun T and Autumn Calabrese, listening to Simon Sinek speak and also DeWitt Jones who is a photographer for National Geographic, delicious food, amazing trainings, knowledge, insight and inspiration shared and LOTS of walking! "Every One Matters" was the theme for this year...and that couldn't be more true. We're in this business to help people live HEALTHY and FULFILLING lives. Your health really is one of the cornerstones of your life and it impacts every area of your life. If your health is suffering, everything else seems to go downhill as well, right?? So our goal is to get people to focus on health...and how it's a lifestyle and not a diet or a short term fix. It can't be if you want to live life to it's fullest!!
We are already looking forward to next year...and can't wait to have so many more people from our team there!!
Our next online fitness and accountability group is forming and starts on August 10th!! If you're wanting to make healthy, lasting changes...this is the place for you. We know that changing habits is hard so these groups are a safe place for you to get tips, inspiration, nutrition advice, support and encouragement!! Let us know if you're intrigued and want to learn more! The best way to get a hold of us is to shoot us an EMAIL.
***It actually hasn't been scientifically proven, but I'd say it's the truth after reading this.
This is our good friend, Scott.
We've never actually met Scott...but I (Laura) met his wife Amber on Instagram about 2 years ago. She was looking for a way to lose some weight and was interested in trying one of the Beachbody workouts so we chatted and picked one that worked best for her and her goals at the time. She got hooked on this whole "healthy lifestyle" thing :) and the rest is history...she's now one of the top coaches on my team, ready to move mountains and help so many people change their own lives after changing hers! She shared her husband's story on her page last night and I knew I had to share it with you guys too. I LOOVE this stuff. I live for it. I get goosebumps. Getting to watch people change their life (even if from afar) is one of the best things ever. Here is Scott's journey...in his own words: **How did you feel about yourself & your body before starting the program?** I've always been a fairly confident person, but I suppose that is based more on what's inside my head. I think I had disconnected somewhat from an honest assessment of my physical self. My weight was distributed all over my body, so I initially didn't notice that I was getting so chubby. It wasn't until a professor referred to me as "husky" that I took note. Shortly after that, I stepped on a friend's scale in their bathroom and was 255 pounds! I was sluggish and wore out easily. Once I accepted that I was, indeed, overweight, I went through a period of personal disgust, tummy grabbing, and dealing with thigh-chafing hikes before finally deciding to tackle it. **What inspired you to change your life & begin exercising?** In truth, I was not inspired to change. My wife's commitment to her health and her dedication to her Beachbody business and general fitness and nutrition was admirable. SHE inspired me... but it didn't make me want to do the videos. I was drinking the Shakeology and feeling pretty good from that. I kept telling myself that I would get back to exercising once I finished my dissertation. But the truth is, there will always be a "dissertation". We all have a dissertation (kids, family, friends, work, chores, any combination thereof) which prevents us from doing things for which we know we should be making time. There is never enough time for everything. But one's health and fitness should be a priority in life or you're just shortening the time (and quality thereof) you have on the back end. So... I was not inspired. I was coerced. I was on vacation with my wife and we had a lot of space in our rental cabin and I had virtually no excuse not to do the videos with her. So... after a beautiful hike in the Smoky Mountains during which my thighs really got to know each other intimately, leaving me a chafed-up mess, I decided, "Oh, the hell with it!" **What did you like about the program you chose?** T25 was only 25 minutes (to be honest, it's generally 27.5 to 28.5 minutes with warm-up, but T28.5 isn't a commercially appealing title). But hearkening back to the time issue... that's the number-one reason people don't exercise: not enough time. The truth is, we all have time to squeeze in some exercise. The truth is, most people don't like to sweat and pant. It hurts. It's hard. Especially at first. I was one of those people. I am NOT athletic in the slightest. Never have been. I don't even like watching sports. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy physical activity. I'd just gotten out of the habit. When you get out of the habit, starting any exercise program just sounds so overwhelming. Just as energy creates more energy, lethargy spirals into more and more profound lethargy. I had learned this time and again throughout my life as I would start exercising in earnest, feel the energy spike, and then abandon it as I ALLOWED life to take over and I ALLOWED my focus to scatter. So what was different this time? I suppose I could attribute my success to these things: a.) The ease of fitting T25 into my day, whether early in the morning or late at night... It was always less than 30 minutes... even if I had to do it after midnight, which often I did, I made myself do it. It hurt at first, but like everything, it gets better. b.) The structure of the program. Rather than hitting the gym and trying to piece together my own thing, I was able to follow a calendar and check off boxes. c.) Shaun T is charming, encouraging and doesn't annoy me. d.) I had to catch up to my wife's level of fitness so people wouldn't assume she had a weakness for funny flabby guys. **Describe your results that you achieved:** I have lost 75 pounds since beginning T25 in August 2014. I went through Alpha, Beta, and Gamma twice. Now I am doing the 21-Day Fix and will move up to Extreme after a second round of that. After that, I will meet Tony Horton in his natural habitat (not that strange commercial where he flirts with the grocery-shopper). I have lost weight all over my body and it is certainly noticeable. I have muscle definition in places where I never had before. My thighs are no longer rubbing buddies. My legs are actually extremely strong. I have toned arms and visible abdominal muscles. I am not ashamed to go shirtless at the pool or lake. I have so much energy between the exercise regimen and the Shakeology that it's insane. I've always had enormous mental energy reserves which sometimes manifested in short bursts of physical energy, but now I am driven, focused, and can manage my frequently 18-hour days without problem. Plus... I look in the mirror and I think that I look good. I guess I never realized how important that it before, or perhaps I was in denial. It's good to feel handsome. It's nice to know that I am in great shape. The mental results are just as good as the physical ones. My confidence has spiked all over. **How has your life changed since completing the program?** Well... I've already said a lot... What else can I say? There are obvious improvements to life which come from physical fitness. Everything is better because I have more zest, more stamina, and more desire to DO. I have more confidence which improves my relationships with everybody. My marriage has always been a good one, but the spike in our mutual health and confidence has made it that much better. Something I can talk about is what it has done for me professionally. I am an actor, writer, and professor of theatre. For years, I held myself back as an actor because of a vanity in which I was in denial about. I made all sorts of excuses but I really just didn't want to be the fat actor. Now that I'm in great shape, I am getting all sorts of offers. People are noticing. I have the confidence now to pursue roles more aggressively. And one thing I've never done is audition for commercials. I have to get new head shots (because I look completely different than in my old ones) but I plan to start pursuing commercial work (where all the money is) because the mental impediments are gone. And just recently, I performed in an incredibly visceral, physically-demanding production of Eugene O'Neill's "HAIRY APE" at the KC Fringe Festival. I would have never made it through that show alive one year ago but now I'm not only making it through, I'm thriving and getting great reviews. The KC Star critic wrote: "a visceral, non-realistic production anchored by Scott Cox in an extraordinary performance as Yank. Cox’s intense, physical presence is riveting, and it never wavers during a show that moves with the momentum of an avalanche." Nobody would have said that a year ago. I couldn't have done that a year ago. Now I plan to keep doing it. I'm two years shy of 40, in the best shape of my life, and just now starting to achieve the things I've dreamed of professionally.
Success can be defined a lot of different ways. In sports it is winning a championship. In work, it is landing that big deal or getting your dream job. In fitness, it is reaching your "goal weight". No matter what area of life you want to look at, being successful takes a lot of work.
I know about this firsthand as a golfer, I was pretty good... I don't say that to brag, it was true and to a lesser degree, still is true. Let me take you back to my childhood. I grew up at a golf course, not literally but pretty dang close. As soon as the course opened each spring I was out there playing and practicing everyday, this probably started around age 9 or 10. I would ride my bike out to the course at 6:30 in the morning and spend the entire day out there. Golf was my life! Once I started playing competitively I set a goal of being a State Champion. I was in 7th grade when I set this goal, so that gave me 6 years to prepare before I would have my last chance to accomplish it. I did everything to accomplish that goal, played 100+ rounds of golf every summer, practiced for hours on end at the driving range. In the winter time I chipped and putted indoors in our basement and when I could, I would travel 2 hours to a golf dome to hit golf balls.
So here is where success became a problem for me. My focus was on one tournament, one achievement. Yeah I had dreamed about playing professionally, but my effort was focused on that one tournament. I never had a game plan if I won. That success was the end point for me. I transitioned to college golf where I had some success but nothing like I had previously. From there I was a local club professional and played against other local professionals and had some success there too. I think I felt like things would come easy to me, that if I accomplished that one thing it would be like dominoes falling over from that point. That winning a state title would naturally lead to success as a collegiate golfer and success there would lead to success as a professional golfer.
Here is the secret that I've learned 15 years later: success isn't like dominoes. One accomplishment doesn't mean you are guaranteed your next victory. This isn't just about sports, I look at this now in my fitness journey, my job, my relationships, my spirituality. I've had some success in these areas but I don't look at success as a destination anymore, it is a journey. Everyday I need to remind myself to keep pushing forward, to knock that next domino over. For me this means reassessing my goals on a regular basis, so that I always have something to work towards. It also means that I need to work on myself through personal development. The person that I am today can only accomplish the skills that I know today. If I want to accomplish new things than I have to grow and learn new things. If you want to be successful in some area of your life I would encourage you to think the same way. Set goals regularly, that way you have a game plan as to what is next. Don't get caught living for one moment or one accomplishment.
This past weekend was my 3 year anniversary of being a Beachbody coach. I honestly cannot believe it...it's flown by and I have so many emotions, thoughts swirling but this picture pretty much says a lot of what I'm feeling...
When I signed up I was simply in love with Insanity and Shaun T and wanted to spread that love around to other people. I wanted others to experience how amazing I felt and change from the inside - out just like I did in just a few short months of doing the program. I LOVED that I could get the best workout of my life in the comfort of my own house. Don't get me wrong, it's a tough program and there were some days where I really did not feel like doing it...but once I saw results, I wanted more! Once I felt that rush of endorphin's I needed it again....and again...and again. Anyway, that's basically how I started coaching. I knew NOTHING about network marketing and honestly didn't even think about this as being something like that!! I just knew this was a way to help people and I had fallen in love with health/fitness/nutrition and what better way to help people change their lives...right?? Those things impact EVERY area of our lives whether we realize it or not. That was my main reason for signing up, but I very quickly saw potential just by listening to other coaches stories. I saw how our lives could be different. I saw HOPE. Hope looks different for everyone...but at that point in our lives, hope looked a lot like TIME. You see, Dan was working long hours and many days as an assistant golf professional. During the summer, the hours were even longer and we rarely saw each other. I learned very quickly that if he stayed in that profession he wouldn't be around to see our future kids grow up and I didn't really want that life...and he didn't either. My very first BIG, scary goal was to retire him from his job. I don't even know if I told him that right away but I just dove in to learn everything I could by listening to trainings, collecting a ridiculously huge amount of notebooks because I had to write down everything I learned, watching and learning from some of the top coaches and just trying to absorb everything I could. Now, our hope looks a little different because in October of 2013 Dan WAS able to quit his job and be home full time so we could work on this business together!! God is so good. Dan now stays home and takes care of Eli, who is 11 months old, but he is also a coach and has a nutritional certification from Precision Nutrition. Right now we are on a mission to create a life we LOVE...a simple and flexible life. One where we have the freedom to focus on what we love and what God has planned for us. We want a life where we are our own bosses and get to choose when we work, what we want to focus on and just pour love, compassion and honesty into other people!! Helping someone make small changes to their habits to become healthier, stronger and happier is the one of the best perks of this "job". The other major perk are the people...seriously. Our team of coaches is made up of the most incredible people from all over the U.S. They're passionate about health/fitness but also about simply sharing their life (the good and the bad) in the hopes that their struggles might help someone else. They're authentic, real and just want to make a difference!!
I honestly never would have thought that one small change to my workouts would create such a change in my life. God's timing and plan is perfect and there is nothing I would rather be doing with my time and energies!!
If any of this resonated with you and you have questions about coaching, do not hesitate to reach out!!
I had put off trying this program for the longest time. I don't really know why, maybe because I just loved Tony Horton and Shaun T so much and their style of workouts. I will say that Tony and Shaun tend to push me a little harder than Sagi. Sagi definitely knows how to lift weights though, and that is what I really enjoyed about this program. I used to love going to the gym and lifting weights but I have now learned I was doing it all wrong. I had a general idea if I wanted to work certain areas that I should do certain lifts but the science of dynamic set training that Sagi brings with this program is just great.
This program is laid out into 3 phases and a total of 90 days. There are two different approaches you can take, you can follow the Lean Beast calendar or the HUGE Beast calendar. I followed the Huge Beast calendar since my goal was to put on some weight. Laura is currently doing the Lean Beast, you can look for her review in a little bit. There are 3 phases that you go through with either calendar; Build, Bulk, and Beast Phases. You will start "building" a base of strength in the first phase. Followed by the "bulking" phase where you change up your lifts and if you are looking to gain weight, you add more calories to your eating plan. The goal here is you will add muscle but you will also add some fat. Then in the final phase, you trim the fat and keep the muscle.
Overall Review
This is a great program for pretty much anybody. Whether you are a guy looking to gain some serious mass, to a 70 year old grandma. Lifting weights is so important for everyone, as a way to at least maintain muscle mass. The intensity of this workout can easily be scaled up or down depending on your current strength level. You will get stronger and you will gain muscle mass during this program. If you combine your lifting with a strict nutrition plan and controlled calorie intake you will be able "bulk" up. For me personally I didn't start putting on weight until I was consuming 4,000 calories per day. Prior to that I was eating around 3,000-3,200 and was gaining minimal weight. So for anyone (women mainly) that are scared of "bulking" you don't have to worry, because you really need to a crazy abundance of calories on top of the right hormonal situation going on (lots of testosterone) to add serious mass. I'll let Laura give more perspective on this topic when she reviews it. If your goal is fat loss, get stronger and to tone or gain muscle this would be a great program to do that. You likely won't be ready to run a marathon after you are done, since the cardio component is a just a smaller piece of this program. It is enough to keep you in decent cardio shape and burn fat.
One concern is the amount of equipment that you might need to do this program. A great way around that especially if you are a gym regular you can stream this workout from a phone or tablet and do it at the gym and use all of their equipment. You would just need to become a Team Beachbody Club Member for that. My Results
My goals going in was to add 10 pounds and go from 160 to 170 pounds. I definitely underestimated my metabolism and fell short of that goal. Over the first 6 weeks of the program I put on around 4 pounds total. That is when I bumped my calories up to 4,000 per day and went from 164 to 169 in the final 3 weeks of the Bulk Phase. Had I been eating like that the entire time I would have maybe hit my goal. I will say that I did have some insecurities when that scale crept up north of 170 a couple times when I weighed in at night. I hadn't seen it that high since I first started my weight loss journey. I was a little nervous about leaning out and getting it back down.
I did take some supplements while I was doing this program which I think definitely helped. First one was Shakeology. When I was consuming 4,000 calories a day I would usually have 2 shakes per day, each one around 700 calories. It would have been next to impossible for me to eat that many calories if some of the calories didn't come from a shake. So that was huge, plus it kept my nutrition on point. I also used a l-glutamine supplement that aids in muscle growth but also in intestinal health. When you eat 200+ grams of protein per day your digestive system needs all the help it can get. So this helped along with the digestive enzymes and probiotics in Shakeology. I also had some leftover creatine from a previous workout that I used on occasion. It tends to give me a headache so I use it sparingly and about half the dosage recommended. Looking back to, I now realize how hard it is to gain muscle and 10 pounds in 90 days maybe wasn't the most realistic goal. My final totals were, I gained 5 total pounds, I lost one pound of fat and gained 6 pounds of lean mass. Overall I'm pretty happy with my results from a measurement standpoint and visual standpoint. I think the thing that I see the biggest difference in is my back.
If you are interested in this program you can head over to our Body Beast Page to watch a short demo of the workout. Feel free to hit me up with any questions that you might have too.
Today is the 2 year anniversary of the day that really began my fitness journey. I remember it because Laura had just returned from Beachbody Summit (big national convention) that took place the last weekend in June. She came home with a copy of Focus T25 on Sunday and I started on Monday!
Prior to that I was sporadic with my workouts, I would fit them in when I had time and when I felt like it. My half-hearted commitment gave me half the results. This time though 2 years ago things changed. A couple things standout as to why they changed. First, was that I loved the program and it was short, just 25 minutes. Even working the crazy hours that I was as a golf pro I was still able to get my workouts in nearly everyday. There were a few days when I worked 16+ hours that I wasn't able to do them. Normally the program takes 60 days to finish, I think I did it all in 67, 1 extra week!!! The second thing that changed was I joined one of Laura's accountability groups. At this point I wasn't coaching and had zero interest in it. I joined to support her and learn what she was spending her time doing. I can't tell you how much the accountability helped me stay on track and stay focused. I even remember one of the nights that I came home from work after working about a 15 hour day and it was because of the group that I pressed play at 9:00 at night. I was hooked! Working out wasn't just to something to help me lose weight it was something that became part of who I was and who I wanted to be. I got asked by a friend not too long ago, "Do you really workout 5-6 days a week?" My answer was yes, I do! 2 years later and I haven't gone more than 2 days without a workout, that includes the time I sprained my ankle, I still did some pilates and ab workouts. I don't share that to brag but because I used to sit on the sidelines and never made fitness a priority. Maybe that is you right now??? If it is it's never too late to start! What if you said yes today, how different would your life look in 2 years? What changes would happen to your body and mind? Would you regret your decision? It's crazy to think back and that was only 2 years ago that I made a decision and how much my life has changed since then. If you are feeling motivated to make a change, to change the direction of your life, and to do that right now, I would love help you with that journey. If you've been trying to do it on your own and have been spinning your wheels, asking for help doesn't mean that you've failed. It means that you've gone as far as you can on your using your own effort and it's time to let others help you. Reach out to me on social media or shoot me an email, I would love to chat.
We are always told that it takes willpower to lose weight...or if we want to be successful at something we just have to harness our willpower and make it happen.
It's not that easy. Your willpower doesn't just sit around waiting for you to use it. It shows up sometimes and other times it's no where to be found! It's fleeting but the good news is, it's re-chargeable! You start the day with a full tank of willpower but the bad news is: as you go through the day, you use it up little by little...so when you get to the end of the day and late night snacking is calling your name, it's REALLY TOUGH to ignore those voices and put down the cereal or ice cream. Willpower is like a fast twitch muscle that gets tired and needs rest. It's incredibly powerful, but has no endurance. You can work on that muscle and make it stronger, but it will still get tired sometimes! Willpower is also like gas in your car...when you resist something tempting, you use some up. The more you resist, the more empty your tank gets, until you run out of gas...which is not where you want to be. That's not all... There have been studies that show that the more willpower you use for one task, the more your blood glucose levels drop. Crazy huh? Since willpower is a mental muscle and doesn't bounce back quickly...if you employ it for one task, there will be less power available for the next unless you refuel. To do that, you'll want to eat foods that elevate blood sugar evenly over long periods, like complex carbs and proteins. Think about this... What are your "default settings"? Because whatever they are...you're going to fall back on those when our willpower is low. Will you grab a bag of chips or cookies OR a bag of carrots? You can adjust your "default settings" over time...these are called NEW HABITS! We focus a lot on building those in our accountability groups. I read once that it takes roughly 66 days to build a new habit...not the typical 21 days you normally hear about. So be patient with yourself! Be CONSISTENT and slowly add in some healthier habits. Focus on things that you can do for the long term and just build into your life. Then once you get those down, focus on some different ones to continually be growing and changing. The reason we get hung up on willpower is because we don't focus on it enough. We use it all up without reserving some of it throughout the day....this means being intentional about what you buy and keep in your house and staying away from the treats in the break room at work. If you're constantly allowing yourself to have temptations right in front of you, you're going to constantly be using up your willpower and have nothing left over by the end of the day. Some other ways your willpower gets taxed: - Taking tests - Trying to impress others - Coping with fear - Suppressing emotion or impulses - Doing something you don't enjoy - Selecting long-term over short-term rewards - Implementing new behaviors - Filtering distractions Every day we run into these issues and more...it's up to us to PROTECT our willpower and our actions! A few ideas: 1) Don't spread your willpower too thin. You have a limited supply of willpower, so decide what matters and reserve your willpower for that. 2) Monitor your fuel gauge. Pay attention to how you're feeling and if your willpower is lacking, don't put yourself into situations where you're going to compromise your goals and go crazy. 3) Realize that your willpower is not infinite...so stop beating yourself up when you struggle with it. We all struggle with it but you CAN make it stronger! (This topic was adapted from the book The One Thing: The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results)
I think it was about 8 years ago when someone that I know approached me and asked me if I would be interested in joining them in their network marketing business. I shot her down so fast, "You mean one of those pyramid schemes, sorry not for me." As soon as she mentioned it every part of me just revolted with the idea that I would be "tricked" into a business like that. There is no way it could be a legitimate business and definitely no way I could make money unless I wanted to trick people too.
Why did I get so defensive? I would say for a few reasons. I had an idea in my head of what this type of business was all about. You solicit all of your friends and family to spend a lot of money to buy product and sign up...Not sure how that stereotype was ever planted in my head but it was a pretty firm belief. Another reason was that I had ZERO interest in using the products that this company was affiliated with and I had even less of an interest in selling them. Lastly, I didn't see it going anywhere. My thought was that it was a "get rich quick" scheme, that would fizzle out as soon as people realized it was a scam. What changed, and how did I end up working with a Network Marketing Company? I will say that my objection about believing in the products is still a real one for me when it comes to network marketing. If you don't have a genuine interest in the products or services that the company you are associated with then you will have to "sell" them. What I mean by that is, if you don't wholeheartedly believe that your widget or service will make someone life's better, then you will need to try to convince them or sell them on it. If you are meeting a need that they have you are just making a recommendation based on what has worked for you. A personal example for me is my experience with the workout program Focus T25, this was the first program that I really did from Beachbody. It got me into incredible shape all while working 50-60 hours per week. The 25 minute length of the workouts was perfect for my situation I had a need for exercise, I had a busy schedule and this program filled that need. There is a big difference between referring quality products that you enjoy using and peddling crap just to make a profit. We sell things everyday without knowing it: we tell our friends where we had lunch and recommend/sell them the idea of going there also. We tell/sell people about TV shows or movies we watch that we think they would like.Take a look at some of the services you use: your realtor, your accountant, the church you go to, where you bought your last car. I would guess you either worked with a friend in one of these industries or a friend told you about who they use. I've come to realize that this is all network marketing is...you tell people about your experience with a certain product or service and if they end up seeing value in it then they will pass along those recommendations as well. My view of what network marketing changed VERY slowly. Laura had joined on as a coach in July of 2012 and for those first 6 months I was hesitant with what she was doing. My perception of what she was doing focused more on how she was working so that someone above her would make more money. Her sales helped their bonuses and her recruiting helped their rank advancements. Somewhere around the spring of 2013, I changed my focus. Instead of looking up in our organization, I started looking down. How was she helping her coaches make money? How was she helping people below her grow their businesses? How was she helping people grow as individuals with their confidence and health? This idea of looking down instead of up totally changed my impression of network marketing. That's why I love this quote from Zig Ziglar.
I learned to approach network marketing with a selfless attitude. An attitude that you are there to serve, and help people meet THEIR needs. I think this is where network marketing gets a bad image. All too often the focus is on how sales and recruiting will benefit you and the people above you. Instead, this is how we approach it: how will this opportunity or product help this person. Will it serve a need that they have?
Specific to Beachbody,
Network Marketing Compared to Corporate America
Just because something is different doesn't make it good or bad, it's just different. If you look at the hierarchy of a traditional business with a CEO, VP's, middle management, supervisors, and finally employees it looks a lot like the same structure of a network marketing business. The difference is that in network marketing the ability to climb the proverbial corporate ladder is much easier. By "climbing the ladder" in a network marketing organization you don't have to displace someone in that position. Everyone has equal opportunity to grow and advance. Compare that to a standard corporation, usually someone has to leave a position before you are able to get promoted. There are certainly benefits to a corporate job, mostly the health benefits are what most people mention. There are also benefits to network marketing though: freedom, ability to work anywhere, unlimited income potential, residual income and being your own boss to name a few. One of the benefits about network marketing versus starting your own company is you don't have to go all in from the start. The startup costs are very minimal. A lot of coaches within our company are doing this just as a part time job, working maybe an hour or two a day. They are doing it because they love being held accountable themselves for their fitness and health and they want to help others with their health and fitness goals. The range of coaches varies from the person that just wants to get fit to the person that wants to grow a huge team and make a 7 figure income and everywhere in between. Why I Now Love Network Marketing There is a small part of me that thinks back to the opportunity that I was approached with 8 years ago and wonder if I should have went for it. I now see how network marketing is a viable business and not a get rich quick scheme. In just 2 1/2 years with our business we have been able to pay off nearly all of our debt and I've been able to leave my full-time job and now stay at home with our son. More importantly, this business has helped me reclaim my health and meet so many amazing people that have similar interests and goals. I also see the potential in this business to give us the freedom that we want in our life and not be tied to a 9-5 job. I'll close with this because I wish someone would have told me this 8 years ago: don't judge this business by the 1 or 2 bad experiences that you've potentially encountered. Just like any industry there are going to be people working with integrity and there are going to be people that lack a certain level of professionalism and customer service. If you have a bad experience at a restaurant are you going to stop eating out all together, absolutely not. You may do your homework the next time and learn about where you want to go and other people's experiences prior to going out but 1 bad restaurant experience isn't representative of the entire industry. One bad experience 8 years ago left a bad taste in my mouth, but I did my research and found something that I can believe in and I know will change lives and that has made all the difference.
How long have you been on your healthy eating journey? 6 months? 2 months? 1 week? Starting tomorrow? This post is to help you out in those first few days, weeks, and months so that you can stay on track. If you are an experienced "clean eater" why the heck are you reading this, didn't you read the title? Ha, just kidding hopefully you can even learn something too. The advice I want to share is something I wish someone would have told me when I first started out on my healthy eating journey, so hopefully you can relate.
Here are the 5 tips that I hope will help you stay on track and continue down a road of health, happiness and straight up awesomeness. Because we all know you can't be awesome unless you eat kale... Tip #1: Spice is the Spice of a Healthy Life
Healthy food doesn't have to taste like you are chewing on styrofoam. One of the biggest mistakes that people make when they are preparing healthier foods is forgetting the seasoning and spices. There is nothing wrong with a little salt and pepper in your diet.
Another key is stocking up on tons of dried spices, they last a long time and can add a ton of flavor. Some essentials in our pantry include: garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano, parsley, cumin, tumeric, curry powder, paprika, ginger, tarragon, sage, thyme, rosemary, 5 spice, cayenne, and chili powder. I'm pretty heavy handed with these spices and herbs, most recipes out there get pretty shy with how much spice to add. My tip is to season, taste, then re-season!!! Other flavor enhancers include fresh citrus and fresh herbs. We almost always have cilantro, lemon, and lime laying around. They are super cheap and will elevate the taste of a dish. Tip #2: Don't Fear the Fat
Fat doesn't make you fat, just like blueberries don't make you blue! Fat has gotten a bad reputation. If you walk down any grocery store aisle you will find products that claim to low fat or no fat. It's a sad state when food manufacturers are well aware of the health benefits of fat but they simply market products this way because consumers have been brainwashed into thinking fat is bad. Usually when a package says low fat, it means high in sugar (or fake sugar) or high in chemicals. Avoid these products. Yes low fat foods usually have fewer calories but for every 1 gram of fat (9 calories/gram) that is removed they can add 2 grams of sugar (4 calories/gram) and still cut the total calories. Sugar is more likely to be stored as fat, raise cholesterol, raise blood sugar and cause inflammation than fat. Also I'm not a fan of counting calories. If you want to know why, check out our other blog post, Stop eating LESS and exercising MORE.
Another reason to eat fat: it's ESSENTIAL to helping your body function. You may have heard of essential fatty acids. Those are fats that your body can't produce and they NEED to be consumed in the food you eat. The key one here is Omega 3 fatty acids, which are found in foods like salmon, sardines, shellfish, grass fed beef, walnuts, flax seed, and chia seeds. The goal would be to get your ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fats below 4:1. The current American averages around 16:1. This means getting more of the Omega 3 rich foods and less of the processed oils that are found in nearly every packaged food item (soybean, canola, grapeseed, cottonseed, sunflower, corn). Don't be afraid of saturated fat either, the science is now showing that saturated fat doesn't have the negative side effects once thought...as long as it is balanced with other healthy fats. The visual that people usually have is that if you eat butter, it will harden and coagulate in your arteries. Well by that same logic shouldn't bananas and carrots also harden when they enter your blood stream, I mean they were solid at one point too. Cooking with saturated fats is actually a lot healthier than using unsaturated fats due to the higher smoke point. The fat won't become oxidized and oxidation is the one of the leading causes of inflammation in the body. Tip #3: Protein Doesn't Make you Big, it Makes You Lean
I have to be honest and say that this tip isn't really one that I was scared of when I first started eating healthy, but I DO see it from a lot of the women that I coach. I'm sorry to pick on the ladies, but eating 3 healthy servings (30 grams each) of protein a day will not make you look like a body builder. In order to get that "muscley" look, your job needs to become eating protein and lifting weights...not to mention the genetics you'd have to have lined up on your side. So if you are the 1/2 of 1/2% of people that those things all line up and you take my advice, I'm sorry.
For the rest of you: protein will help you maintain muscle mass which boosts your metabolism and your awesomeness. If you want a flat stomach, work on getting strong legs. Healthy servings of protein will also help keep you full longer. It digests slower than carbs and therefore won't trigger hunger hormones as quickly, which means less running for the donuts that your coworker brought into the office. Tip #4: Be Adventurous
If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try again...and then try one more time. If you've been at this healthy eating for a bit, I'm sure you have had some terrible tasting "healthy" food. Or maybe the consistency was way off. If your first experience with broccoli was a terrible one, don't write off all broccoli. Try a different way to cook it!! Try it steamed, try roasting it, or sauteing it, or whatever. Try some new seasonings. I'm not just talking about broccoli, this goes for anything and everything too. Don't give up on foods if your first attempt wasn't a home run.
Also step outside your comfort zone and try some NEW foods. Try some chia seeds, or kale, or tempeh. Don't rule anything out because of what you've heard or read somewhere. Once you've given something a fair shake and you still don't like it, then it can go on your food blacklist. Tip #5: Learn a Little Bit
I think this is REALLY important in sticking with your new diet. I use the word diet to focus in on the things you eat...not some calorie restrictive term that has been hijacked by magazine covers. I would credit my education in nutrition for getting me to give up certain foods and desiring to eat other foods. I mean once you know that hydrogenated oils have almost the exact chemical makeup as plastic, you will put down the margarine and go back to real butter. Once you learn that broccoli sprouts can actually cure and prevent you from getting cancer, you will find ways to add them to your daily diet.
If you want to find some quality nutrition advice, talk to some of your "nutrition friends" and ask them who they trust and follow. Don't ask just one either, there are a lot of viewpoints out there and it's good to get some info from a few sources. If you don't have any "nutrition friends", you can just follow us, and we will provide everything you ever need to know...or at least we'll try! Honestly though if you need some help navigating the nutritional world, we would love to help you find some quality resources that are out there. Just hit us up with an email or comment below. I hope some of this stuff is new advice for you if you're just getting started on your new healthy lifestyle. Or maybe if you've been at it for a while, these are just some good reminders! My hope for you would be that you continue to learn and grow and become an influence to the people that are closest to you. If you have other thoughts on what has helped keep you on track, we would love to hear what has helped you!! It's been a few weeks since we got back from our trip to Cancun with Beachbody and the warm ocean breezes and palm trees are definitely missed!! We decided to bring E with us so that meant we didn't get a ton of "relaxing" in...aka sitting on the beach reading a book or playing sand volleyball...or sleep, since he was up at 5:30 or 6am every single day, but that's definitely OK. The memories and pictures we have make up for the lack of sleep...PLUS we got to see the sunrise every single day so I can't complain about that! (trying to be positive here...is it working?) We flew in on a Wednesday afternoon, enjoyed the amazing welcome party that Beachbody threw... from our patio though because E fell asleep so early after the long travel day...that was OK with us though because we wanted to get up early to work out with Shaun T! It was a fabulous workout at 7am and as we walked out into the lobby there was freshly made Shakeology waiting for us. Nothing better than that! Thursday consisted of pool time, nap time and a few margaritas. We decided to split up the nap times by the very fair method of rock, paper, scissors. I was in charge of nap time that day and lucky for me, E slept for almost 3 hours. Good because I didn't get sunburned like Dan did but bad because I was stuck inside all afternoon! After he woke up we went back to the pool and hung out for a little bit and then went to dinner with some of our friends who were there. I will say the BEST part of this trip was getting to spend time with our friends and fellow coaches that we talk to regularly online, but rarely get to see in person!! Brainstorming, sharing struggles and tips, figuring out how we can better help our teams and work TOGETHER to grow the people around us were definitely some of the highlights. There is no cattiness in our circle of coaches. We truly want to see each other succeed and everyone will bend over backwards to help you if you're struggling. Such amazing COMMUNITY!! Yep, sunburned. Dan is too, you just can't see it. Working out with Shaun T on Day 3! This trip was paid for almost entirely by Beachbody and I couldn't be more grateful!! Earning trips like this by simply helping a few people every single month is kinda crazy. It was a rare occurrence a few years ago that Dan would be able to take that much time off to go on a trip...so this was an amazing blessing. We coach not because we want to be rewarded with "things"...but because we want to make a difference in someone's life. There are many different avenues to do that, but helping someone with their health and nutrition has the potential to impact so many other areas of their life as well!! That's why we love what we do and are proud to be a part of this company!
Alcohol is a topic that comes on a regular basis in the groups that we run. Let's face it...a lot of people like to indulge in an alcoholic beverage! Some people use alcohol as a treat with dinner or at an event, some use it to wind down after a long day, and some use it to improve their dance skills (or at least their perception of their dance skills). I know the title of this post may seem a little backwards to some people. Alcohol has calories and those calories have next to zero nutritional value. Why then, should someone that drinks, continue to drink if their goal is to lose weight? Won't stopping help them actually lose weight?The short answer to that question is yes, it will help if you cut out all alcohol. The long answer is why I wanted to write this article. Laura and I really believe in creating a lifestyle that is healthy and sustainable for the long run. For us that means creating habits that are healthy and easy to repeat. Some habits for example would be: drinking lots of water, eating protein with every meal, eating lots of veggies, cooking meals at home, reading nutrition labels, and working out. We also believe that a healthy lifestyle can and should incorporate a few treats. Alcohol and desserts would fall into this category. You might be thinking, "GREAT, they say I can just keep drinking like I am and I will lose weight!" Well not quite, that depends on how you use alcohol. Sorry there is always a catch!!! I would encourage you to be super honest with yourself and figure out why you drink?
That would probably be my biggest takeaway for you with this article: Do Your Actions Match Your Goals?I don't want to tell you how much to drink or not to drink at all. That is for you to decide based on how healthy you want to live. I will say that there is a lot of research that does say having a small amount of alcohol does actually have some health benefits. So there is a place for it if you used properly. I would ask you to go back to that list of questions above or if you thought of some on your own, sit with that for a bit and really get an understanding of why alcohol is a part of your life. Are the reasons you are drinking positive, beneficial and adding value to your life?
Earlier I mentioned creating a healthy lifestyle and building healthy habits. I would recommend that alcohol consumption (and eating desserts) SHOULD NOT become habit. If you think about it, habits are things you do mindlessly, they don't take any decision making skills. I believe that treats should be conscious decisions that you choose to incorporate into your life. If alcohol is a healthy part of your current lifestyle and your actions match your goals than by all means continue what you are doing. Cutting alcohol out during your weight loss journey only to re-add it once you hit your goal weight will only cause issues at that point. I encourage you to learn how to "healthify" your alcohol decisions so that if you are going to drink, the lifestyle you create is one that you are happy with during your weight loss and after, because frankly once you get on the road to becoming healthy it never stops!! We want to recognize a couple of our friends that have decided to make a commitment to their health and fitness. They have found success in their own journey using Beachbody products and want to share that success with others. Please welcome Cheryl Vaske to Team FullyFit! Cheryl and Dan used to work together at Hazeltine National Golf Club. Cheryl has been a couple of our Challenge Groups and has fallen in love with Focus T25 and loves Shakeology. The 25 minute program fit nicely into her busy day and helped her lose some weight all while getting stronger. She has decided to make a commitment not only to her health but also wants to help others reach their potential too. We are SO excited to have you on board Cheryl...and for those of you that know her, she would love to connect with you on how you could begin your own health journey. She will actually be co-hosting a fitness and nutrition accountability group with Laura starting on May 4th. If you want more details about what that accountability group is all about, reach out to her us and we would love to help. We are SO excited to welcome our good friend, Jillian Kruger, to our amazing team of coaches. What that means is...she loves health and fitness and wants to help other people create change in their lives!! She is such an amazing, compassionate person...a busy mom...and loves to be active. She participated in a few of our accountability groups and has done T25 and the 21 Day Fix.
We are so EXCITED for her to start this new journey and have no doubt she will be an incredible coach. If you know Jillian and need some help building some healthy habits into your busy life, reach out to her!! She'd love to chat more with you to help! That's right, a number of Beachbody's most popular workouts are available to stream online as long as you have access to a web browser and the internet. Just like Netflix revolutionized online movie space, we feel this is going to be a game changer in fitness world. We have been able to use this platform for the past month and blown away with the quantity and quality of the workouts that they have included. It's also extremely easy to use. We have accessed it from both our computers and our phones and it works great. We were able to stream workouts to our TV using Google Chromecast and I'm pretty certain you could do the same using Apple TV. So how does it work??? When you log in this is the first screen you will see. Right now there are 11 Full programs available and they have a New & Noteworthy section that you can preview all of the latest programs that have been released and some classics that haven't made their way into the Member Library yet. The 11 programs that are included are: Insanity, TurboFire, Brazil Butt Lift, P90X, P90X2, P90X3, Chalene Exreme, Hip Hop Abs, 10 Minute Trainer, Tony 1-on-1, and Insanity Asylum. The New & Noteworthy workouts will give you access to 1 individual workout from 8 of Beachbody's other programs. Also coming by the end of March 2015, there will be a Purchased Products section which will give you access to certain programs that you have purchased by DVD. After you select a program, you will have access to all of the workouts and program materials for that particular workout. For example with P90X3 you would also get Quick Start, Fitness Guide, Calendar, Nutrition Guide, and Extras. All of these are downloadable. Once you hit play you will be prompted with a disclaimer screen. Beachbody is really good at making sure if you go all insane doing Insanity that it isn't their fault. A couple clicks and you are ready to start working out. Plus after you hit this agreement on the disclaimer you won't have to do it again for that workout series, which is nice. Here is a short video showing some of Beachbody's celebrity trainers getting a first look this new function. Club Member Benefits
Frequently Asked Questions: Will I need to buy the fitness program to stream them? No. Programs inside Beachbody on Demand’s digital library come with a membership to Team Beachbody Club. Will there be an extra cost per workout watched? No. Unlimited access is included in Team Beachbody Club membership at no extra cost. Will I be able to stream workouts internationally? Yes. You will be able to stream abroad as long as you have a valid internet connection. Will the workouts be available to download and watch offline? No. Programs inside the digital library come with a membership to Team Beachbody Club. How much will it cost? The current price for a Team Beachbody Club Membership is $38.87 which is paid quarterly. So essentially it is $13 per month. The CEO of Beachbody eluded to the fact that this price may go and you would be able to lock in the current price if you sign up before the price comes out. You are also able to buy a Club Challenge Pack which is a combination of 3 months of membership plus a 1 month supply of Shakeology for $140. If this feature sounds like something that will help you stay on track and see the results that you've been hoping to accomplish, we would love to chat with you. Feel free to shoot us an EMAIL or comment below and we will be in touch. If you KNOW this is going to be the difference maker for your fitness, click the button, JOIN THE CLUB, below and feel free to go through the sign up process. Oh and in case you want to combine a club membership with a month's supply of Shakeology, click JOIN THE CLUB + SHAKEOLOGY. That combination is on special this month and you will save $30 when you bundle them together. We aren't talking about trees and green grass here, although those things are important too. The environment that we are talking about is everything around you. That includes nature, but it's so much more than that and also includes:
You get the drift...it's everything that you come into contact with on a daily basis and not just physically. All of that information and exposure creates who you are, what you think, your health, your relationships, and your lifestyle. You've probably heard of the concept of nature vs nurture. To get a little geeky on you, it is also your DNA as well! Your DNA is really the only thing that will not change. Did you know that there is a particular branch of genetics called epigenitics that is doing a lot of research on how our ENVIRONMENT can turn on or turn off certain genes?? Although we can't change our genes, this science is telling us that the excuse of "It's in my genes" may not be a reliable excuse any more. You may now have to change it to "It's in my environment!!!" How cool and yet scary is that? Based on what you consume and what you come in contact with may dictate if that cancer gene, or alzheimer gene, or obesity gene actually "turns on." It's cool because our environment is actually the one thing that we have a lot of control of. Go back to that list above: ALL of those things you can change today!!! Would some of them be more difficult...like walking away from a job or moving out of your house...sure, but you could still do it! Would you do it if you knew your house was going to cause your whole family to get some auto-immune disease? Absolutely!!! What if you knew that your job increased the chances of you developing cancer? The World Health Organization actually listed shift work (working over night) as a known carcinogen!!! I guess the reason I think this is a little scary is because now YOU are in control. There really aren't any excuses any more. Sure, there are some environment things that you can't change unless you plan on living in a bubble...but a majority of what you come in contact with is because of a choice you make. If you are crabby all the time, look at your environment. Is your job creating too much stress? Are the people you're hanging around with crabby and constantly complaining? If you are depressed, look at your environment. Are you getting enough sunlight/vitamin D? Are you exercising, which is known to release good mood hormones? Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a time and a place for medication...especially if we're talking about depression, but we turn to drugs way too soon and way too often before exhausting every other effort. If you are overweight, look at your environment. Are you exposing yourself to toxins that mess with your hormones and cause you to store more weight? Are you eating whole, fresh foods? Are you exercising? If you are feel empty and your life seems to have no meaning, look at your environment. Are you watching negative news all the time? Are you reading personal development? How is your spiritual life? How are your relationships? Your environment is going to change you, but the cool thing is: YOU have the ability to change it first! Ever since Laura and I did our little experiment with counting our calories (2,800 calories consumed each day) and watching our macronutrient breakdown (certain %'s of protein/carb/fat), we've been getting a lot of people asking about what their calorie needs are and what they should be eating. Oh and we both lost weight on this plan too!!! As much as I like to help people figure their own individual macro needs and calorie needs, to actually track it is a MAJOR pain. Will it work, absolutely! Will you have food issues after a short period of time and struggle to eat without your food scale, probably!!! Why is this??? Because eating shouldn't be difficult and if it is one of two things is going to happen.
What if there was an easier way??? Simple eating, that's portion controlled, so you don't have to worry about weighing food or macros. You get what you need in the amount you need it. It exists, and it's called the 21 Day Fix! I know we sell Beachbody products so you might think we are just saying this is a great product because then we can sell more of it. Honestly though, this program is the REAL deal... It takes all the guesswork and stress out of eating. It really is a program that I would recommend to people even if I wasn't selling it. How does it work? If you want the long version, can head over to an earlier blog post, The 21 Day Fix Explained, where we go into a little more detail. The short answer is that you get a variety of color coded containers that are specific to certain food groups. Depending on your size and activity level you will be allotted a certain quantity of each of the containers each day. Don't worry you won't starve!!! We actually hear the opposite from a lot of people that have done it, they struggle to eat all the food... This system may not be quite as precise as the calculations that I was figuring out for people....specific percentages of each macro that they should aim for... which involves using MyFitnessPal or some other meal tracking website. The long term success however, of people that have used these food containers is nothing short of remarkable because it is much more simplified. Check out this support group of 21 Day Fix Customers and some of their transformation photos. (https://www.facebook.com/groups/21dayfixrecipes/photos/) You'll have to scroll a bit since there are a lot of food pics, but feel free to look at those too because that is the food you get to eat on this plan!! On top of the original program, Autumn Calabrese (the creator of the original program) just came up with a more advanced version, 21 Day Fix Extreme. This program uses a similar simple eating plan as the original but modifies it slightly for more intense workouts. It also includes a 21 Day Countdown to Competition Guide that will give you serious results in just 21 days. We are both extremely excited about these new workouts and eating plan. Laura is going to be starting it on Feb 23rd and will be running an accountability group for others that want to join in! Let us know if you want more info! If you've tried dieting or calorie counting without any long term success, we would love to help you find a better way. It may be this program, it may just be some small nutritional tweaks. Either way we want all of you to be living up to your full healthy potential. Yeah, sleep is kind of a boring subject but a super important one when it comes to your health. It doesn't boost your ego when you rock out a solid 8 hours of sleep compared to bench pressing a new personal best. Although... after being a new parent I do get pretty excited after a good nights sleep. Photos that you post to Instagram of you sleeping just aren't as attractive as a picture of the pretty salad you ate at the local cafe. You take your pick...
Let's be honest there is nothing fun, glamorous or sexy about sleep. I'm talking about sleep, not what happens before you sleep. ;) Sleep is crucial to your health. Here are just a few facts about sleep.
*Information from studies conducted by Canadian Medical Association Journal. I'm really looking forward to a book that I just ordered Shawn Stevenson's, Sleep Smarter: 21 Proven Tips to Sleep Your Way To a Better Body, Better Health, and Bigger Success. Once I get done with that one I'll write up another post about some of the tips. Until then do your best to get some rest. Take Care Friends!!! |
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