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Breakfast is often referred to the most important meal of the day. Some people get this concept some don't. Breakfast for a lot of people actually looks lot more like dessert. Just yesterday we were in a local restaurant and watched a guy sitting in the booth across from us enjoy waffles à la mode. Really, ice cream for breakfast on top of a sweet bread, topped with liquid sugar and whip cream. Why is that even an option for breakfast? Seriously!!!
They all look pretty delicious don't they! You might recognize that waffles à la mode isn't an ideal breakfast but do you know why? #1 - The obvious one is this type of breakfast is packed with sugar. I don't think I need to explain why the sugar in this amount is bad. #2 - We love our fat but we also love getting it from quality sources and this type of breakfast is also extremely fat dense. This combination of high fat and high sugar/carbohydrate is the reason we have the obesity epidemic that faces us in this country. The calorie density is through the roof when you combine sugar and fat, our brains just don't know when to say enough is enough when you combine those things. #3 - Breakfast is also a unique meal. If you look at it's name "Break - Fast" this is the meal that breaks what is likely a 8-10 hour fast depending on when you last ate the previous night. It is because we are in this fasted state that our body is primed to absorb more of the energy that we provide it. This happens mainly due to us being more insulin sensitive after a fast. That means that your body will easily transport blood glucose (carbs) into cells. Now if you worked out at 6 a.m. and you then consume a carb dense breakfast that carbohydrate/glucose will get transported to muscle tissue. That's a good thing! If you roll out of bed and have an Ego waffle, bowl of cereal, or a bowl of oatmeal topped with brown sugar and raisins, that carbohydrate will likely get stored in fat cells. #3 - Lastly, a meal like those mentioned so far is lacking almost all nutritional value. In general, color is a sign of a food's nutritional value. If you didn't cook a waffle, that whole plate would be white = zero nutrition. When you combine combine, calorie dense, blood sugar spiking, and nutrient poor all together in one food/meal you are either having one hell of a treat meal or trying to develop diabetes. How do you upgrade your breakfast?#1 - Eat a balanced meal or for some a lower carbohydrate meal depending on how sensitive you are to carbohydrates. Balanced meal means getting equal amount of calories from protein, fats and carbs. The one that is hardest for most is the protein source. Some of our favorite ways to add protein to breakfast is egg whites, protein powder via a shake or pancakes, or meat of some kind. Studies have even shown that a protein dense breakfast will help stave off hunger throughout the entire day, meaning less snacking and more calories consumed.  Sweet Potato and Black Bean Hash #2 - Add some vegetables! Yeah we said it veggies for breakfast. Not only does this up the nutritional value the meal it also adds some fiber. Try to make 1/3 of your plate a veggie! Our go to is sauteed broccoli slaw or steamed broccoli. By adding fiber you you slow down the digestion process and therefore will avoid blood sugar spikes and as much of that energy getting sent off to fat cells.  Pumpkin Spice Protein Pancakes and Broccoli #3 - Keep it simple. The morning can be a tough time to put a fancy breakfast together. Why do you think cereal is a breakfast staple, convenience. So just make something else that fits the above criteria convenient for you. For a long time this meant have a shake for breakfast that was balanced nutritional and loaded up with some greens to get veggies. Overnight oats that contain some extra protein, greek yogurt with berries, or egg muffins.
#4 - Find something that you like and works for you and stick with it. Variety is important for diet but that means throughout the day, not day to day. Breakfast for us is almost identical 5 days a week, eggs, broccoli of some form and plantains. Find what works for you.  Our Typical Breakfast The common thread that connects all these tips, is having a plan. That starts with maybe building anywhere from an extra 5 minutes up to 20 minutes to prepare an upgraded breakfast. It means having some healthier options stocked in the fridge, freezer and pantry. It means knowing ahead of time what you are going to make or meal prepping earlier in the week. We would love to hear what are your go-to breakfast options?
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If you didn't read our bios, in a previous occupation I actually used to work as a golf professional. No, I didn't play on the PGA Tour. I worked at a club, ran golf tournaments, sold merchandise, gave golf lessons and every once in awhile I got to play! People always would tell me how jealous they were of my job, to which I would usually just agree because that was easier. Easier than saying I work ridiculously long hours, never get a weekend off, get paid a shade above minimum wage, and had 300+ "bosses" called members that all wanted something different. But I digress...  This post isn't about my life as a golf pro so much. I got to thinking the other day after listening to someone else talk about selling nutritional products. They made the comment that nutritional products and health products are much easier to sell to the healthy! People that are familiar with things like probiotics, gut health, adaptogens, etc. That kind of sucks if you think about it. The healthy people already do a pretty good job of taking care of themselves so why should they invest more into their health. That got me thinking about my days as a golf pro and how a similar analogy also rang true. It was much easier to sell golf lessons and golf equipment to the more advanced golfers. Four hundred dollars for a new driver, no problem. Five hundred dollars for golf lessons, sure! You can pretty much change this analogy into anything else. I also used to be a craft beer nerd too. Your average Joe wouldn't likely spend $10-20 for a bottle of beer but I didn't blink an eye at that. Why??? I saw the value in the beer!  One of my many beer hauls The golfer sees the value in the lessons. The healthy person sees the value in nutritional products.  One of my many nutritional hauls It all comes down to value... whatever you value that is where you will spend your resources! Since we live in the health world this is a tough predicament to be in and actually quite frustrating. There is nothing more that I would want to do then help people that are morbidly obese lose 100+ pounds. To actually save their lives of people that are in a downward spiral.
What does it take to help a person like that though? It takes that person seeing value in investing in his/her health! Unfortunately it usually takes a rock bottom moment for a person like that make a change. Maybe it is a diabetes diagnosis or a heart attack. When you take away health, it becomes a lot more valuable and you will be more apt work pretty hard to get it back. I know we help a lot of people begin to believe in themselves again and reach a lot of their goals, which is amazing! We won't stop doing that! My hope and prayer is is that just one person will read this and think that their health needs to be valued more! That they are willing to make the investment with their time and money to turn their life around. That obesity and disease doesn't have to be the trajectory that their life is on. If that's you, we would love to hear from you. I know that first step and asking for help can be one of the hardest. Know that we will meet you where you are at and will be by your side through the whole process.  Here's a little treat for ya!! We posted about these in our Instagram stories earlier last week but here's the recipe again. They were SOOO good and honestly tasted just like a Girl Scout Samoa...seriously...I couldn't believe it. Don't be fooled, these are NOT protein bites and to be honest, most of the ones you find on Pinterest aren't either because the fat is higher than the protein....so we'll just call these like they are: Chocolate Coconut Fat Balls. These will make a great little treat to help you curb your sweet tooth! You don't have to be worried about crappy ingredients which is nice. But... there's always a but, right? I would advise that you are aware of the calories and limit yourself to 1, max 2 per day! Well that's unless you are working your tail off to gain weight, then go ahead and eat all 1,600 calories, maybe! MACROS- This batch made 8 balls. 200 cal/ball 14 g of fat 13 g of carbs 6 g of protein 3 g of fiber
We try our best to share our life with you guys....and I know social media makes it seem like it's all glamour, beaches, fun stuff all the time and no work It's not. I promise. BUT there's a big difference between what our days looked like last year compared to now. Now...we choose what our days look like. As coaches, as business partners and life changers with Beachbody...we STILL wake up with an alarm around 6 or 6:30, because we WANT TO...with goals of getting up even earlier. 
Some days we work a lot...some days we don't....sometimes we work on the weekend...and we stop when we'd like!! Sometimes we work at the beach or a coffeeshop or at home in the RV...the location doesn't matter. Total control. Messy hair. Yoga pants...no showers...no pants...no shoes...no problem. HA!! Every day is a new day to make a choice. To set some new goals. To grow. It's a NEW day to connect with people that want to join a movement...and want to spread the message of health and life to their friends and family!! If you want more CONTROL of your life...more flexibility or more control of your health and you love to serve people and help them, we'd love to chat with YOU!! ️  What is Shift Shop?Shift Shop is Beachbody's latest program that was developed by Chris Downing. The program is geared for anyone looking to get amazing results in 21 days. The program is a combination of agility, plyometric and resistance training that will work your entire body. The program is designed to slowly progress you from shorter less intense workouts that will "ramp up" in intensity but also your results. 
Meet Chris Downing Proven ResultsWant to Try Shift Shop?There are a couple of ways that you can start this program. The first option is to purchase the DVDs. With the DVD package you get a total of 8 workouts, agility markers, and nutrition plan. You can upgrade that package and get the Deluxe kit that also includes a PT sandbag, 3 bonus deluxe workouts. The other option is join Beachbody On Demand and get access to all of the workouts including the deluxe workouts. You can join Beachbody On Demand for free for 14 days, then they have quarterly and yearly memberships also.
There are also usually specials available if you combine the program or Beachbody On Demand membership with either Shakeology or the Beachbody Performance Line of supplements. PLUS... if you purchase any of these options through us you get access to both of us as your health, wellness, and nutrition coaches. Which also gives you access to our exclusive online accountability groups and our private Facebook group with hundreds of other people like you trying to get and stay healthy. If you are curious about more info about whether this program would be a good fit for you, you can comment below or email us and we will get back to you shortly.  Two rounds of 21dfx (roughly 2 months) and I feel like a new person (even though I don't look a ton different on the outside). This program is probably my soul workout...I've done so many rounds of it and every time I see changes in my body...and it's ONLY 30 min a day!
The COOLEST part: I weigh the same in both pictures!! 😳 Don't base your results solely on the scale...please please please take pictures. Take measurements of your hips, thighs, waist, bust and biceps! My goal wasn't to lose inches...so I didn't track those this time around. Every workout uses dumbbells or a resistance band in some way. I used heavier weights: 20's for lunges, squats, squat jumps and even got up to the 25's at one point...and 8's - 15's for upper body (There's this one shoulder move with a curtsy I could never do more than 8 with 😳) and PUSHED myself every day to do more and get stronger!! Without the burn, it don't mean nothin!! (As Shaun T would say 😂) Jan 7th was the day I took the "before" pictures and the "progress" were taken Mar 1st and I'm so glad I stuck it out for 2 rounds!! My nutrition didn't change a ton...I still ate clean about 90% of the time and treated myself 10% of the time. I maybe drank a little less wine 🍷 and added a bit more protein (try to get some at every meal)...I eat probably between 1800 cal and 2000 cal every day. PLEASE REMEMBER: you can do anything you set your mind to. Your mind is POWERFUL! Commit to something FIRST and then figure out how to make it happen. Commit first. Then take ACTION! Then be patient! Email us if you need help!!  I know we haven't done many book reviews on our blog in the past. Recently we were approached by a "book tour" company and they asked if we would read and review Darin Olien's book Superlife. I first read this book back when it came out back in 2015! I was even fortunate to get to meet Darin and hear some stories behind the book. Turns out he grew up about an hour from where I did. Apparently kids from small farm towns in rural Minnesota can have a career in nutrition!  When I was approached to share Darin's message I was all for it. The principles he teaches in the book are also some of the fundamentals of living a healthy life and always good to revisit myself. Darin breaks out these fundamentals into what he refers to the 5 Life Forces. Life Force 1: Nutrition This is at the core of being healthy. His basic approach revolves around eating whole foods in abundance and variety. Eating this way will ensure that you are satiated with micronutrients that all too often we lack. Being a vegan himself he isn't a huge proponent of eating animal products but is ok if people chose to eat animal products as long as they are high quality and occasionally eaten. With nutrition he also stresses the importance of keeping your gut healthy! This is something I strongly advocate for as well and think can be a real game changer for a lot of people. For most people that looks like... cutting out processed foods, adding foods/supplements rich in probiotics and prebiotics, and probably supplementing with some digestive enzymes. Life Force 2: Hydration Water... something so basic but something that so many people fail to consume. As humans, we are water! Roughly 2/3 of our bodyweight is water. It does everything from provide pathways to carry raw materials around our body to insulate us and keep us warm or cool. Let's just say it's super important! Darin provides some great tips to upgrade the quality of your water also in the book. Life Force 3: Oxygenation Oxygen - it's critical to life and something that gets overlooked in regards to health. Darin quotes a couple of studies that talk about how cancer thrives in low oxygen situations and dies off in oxygen rich environments. Pretty amazing stuff! Increasing oxygen ties back into life forces 1 and 2. Whole food plants contain more oxygen than processed, packaged foods. Getting adequate water also increases the amount oxygen that enters our bodies. Combine that with some intentional deep belly breathing and you are really improving your oxygenation. Life Force 4: Alkalization This life force is one that is definitely overlooked and understudied. Darin and I maybe differ slightly on this point. Some of the research that I've done and read suggests that it is highly unlikely your body will become more acidic based on what we eat. The pro-alkaline movement tends to look at the acid levels of a person's urine which looks at what is excreted versus the pH of a person's blood and cellular fluid. My opinion here is the jury is still out, but I would agree with Darin in that a diet high in plant based foods will improve your overall health. Life Force 5: Detoxification Darin is a big believer in the process of detoxing the body. He points out the constant stress that our bodies are under from everything in our environment to what we consume. Our bodies have normal detox pathways but they get backlogged when we consume low quality foods and are exposed to chemicals in our environment. His advice to handle all of this, focus on the first 4 life forces and your detox system will be able to handle the workload. Darin, finishes the book with some recipes and final thoughts on how you can implement the 5 Life Forces into your current life.
I'm a big fan of Darin's approach to health and this book does an excellent job in getting people to think a little differently about their health. It's not all about being reactionary and trying to take care of yourself after you get sick. It's about doing things that produce vitality in your life and keep disease at bay. If you are looking to up your health game I highly recommend this book to give you a solid baseline of information.  We have been pretty excited for the launch of this program ever since we heard about it back in July. It just looks like a fun program and we know it will be a good change of pace for us. We wanted to share some of the details with you all just in case this type of workout might be something you are interested in doing. Here is how Beachbody describes the workout: INTRODUCING CORE DE FORCE Created by Trainers Joel and Jericho, it's 30 days of zero-equipment, core-defining workouts inspired by the most high-octane sport in the world—Mixed Martial Arts! SHRED DOWN WITH MMA-STYLE WORKOUTS If you want to slash inches from your waist and shed body fat, nothing beats CORE DE FORCE’S effective—and addictive—workouts. In just 30 days you can reshape your body with:
Check Out These Results!Core De Force FAQsHow long is the program? 30 Days How long are the workouts? 21-47 minutes Do I need any equipment? No What's included with the program? The base kit includes:
Are there upgrades? Yes, you can upgrade to a deluxe kit and you get everything mentioned above plus 3 additional workouts, an agility ladder, portion control containers, and a deluxe workout calendar. Are there Challenge Pack options? This document explains the 2 most popular Challenge Packs that include Shakeology. It is also available to order as a Performance Challenge Pack which includes a tub of Energize, a pre-workout drink, and Recover, a post-workout shake. Hopefully that answers a few the questions you have regarding this program. If you do have any other questions or just want to chat about if this program would be a good fit for you we would love to hear from you. You can comment below or EMAIL us.
 One of the coolest things on the horizon for us is a new incentive that was announced last week at our Coach Summit in Nashville. It is called the Beachbody Health Bet. The concept is Beachbody the company and partially us as coaches are challenging you to commit to 2 simple behaviors for 4 weeks starting September 5th, 2016 with a prep week starting on August 29th!
What are those 2 behaviors?
You've maybe heard for the website, www.dietbet.com, where you can wager a certain amount of money and if you lose "x" percentage of weight by the end of the challenge you get a portion of the pot. Part of this is great in that people put a little skin in the game to give you that extra push to get results. The downside is that people can lose weight in some very unhealthy ways. That is why I absolutely love the approach that Beachbody has laid out for this challenge. It's all about creating healthy behaviors, and yeah weight loss might be a side effect of that but you don't have to feel pressure to starve yourself in order to get a piece of this pie. So what's in the "pie"?
 So unless you are living under a rock you've most likely heard of the program 21 Day Fix. The concept behind the program is that you combine exercise with a portion control system using color coded containers. The difficulty that some of our customers have had is how to you go from ingredients to meals using the containers. Fixate is the answer to that. Fixate is a cooking show that will air on Beachbody On Demand. The show will be a cooking show where Autumn's brother who is a professional chef will teach you how to put together meals in a healthy way using the container system. I'm a sucker for cooking shows so I'm pretty excited about this plus I know it will help so many people have more confidence with the container system that is proven to work if it gets used. Each episode/recipe will be 4-7 minutes long and include downloadable instructions and grocery lists. This is scheduled to go live on August 19th, 2016. “It’s so easy to get stuck in a cooking rut,” Autumn explains. “We designed Fixate to help people get more creative with their healthy, portion-controlled eating plans, so they can try new recipes as well as learn to make and containerize the foods they already love.”  We want to help people get healthy and lose weight and we know sometimes a little incentive is a great way to get people started. Let me explain in a little more detail what we are offering. If you purchase any Challenge Pack (workout + month's supply of Shakeology) you will also receive a free copy of Autumn's cookbook, Fixate. With this Challenge Pack purchase you will also receive a free 30 Day membership to Beachbody On Demand which will give you access to Autumn's new cooking show! Oh and over 400 different workouts if you feel like dabbling with something else. The other option if you aren't sure if any of this is right for you is to sign up for a FREE 30 Day Club Membership. For 30 days you will have access to 400+ workouts, Autumn's new cooking show, and some other great resources. If on day 30 you haven't used it or didn't like it you can cancel no questions asked. Well we might actually ask you why you didn't like it but just for feedback purposes... :) If you choose this option you will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of Autumn's cookbook Fixate! We believe in these products and know that they can change lives but they can only do that if you have them and use so hopefully this will be that little push to get you started. This week we held our first ever webinar! It was super fun to get online with some people and talk about what we do as coaches. We put together a fun power point slideshow to go along with it which totally brought me back to high school speech class. We put this webinar together to share a couple different key points that a lot of people have questions about.
Meal Replacement Shake Comparison - An unbiased look at the most popular shakes on the market4/28/2016
Due to formulas changing and requests for additional shakes, we've updated this post as of 9/18/17.
This subject comes up ALL THE TIME with people we work with and the coaches in our community. People are always trying to compare different shakes that are on the market. There is so much skewed information since the people that are usually telling you the benefits of a particular shake are also selling that shake. Full disclosure: we are Beachbody Coaches, drink Shakeology daily and also sell it. BUT...unlike a lot of other posts that attempt to compare these shakes, I want to share the facts: calorie information, macronutrient information, nutritional information, added ingredients, cost and let YOU decide what makes the most sense for you situation.
The only bias that might show up in this post is that I put a huge emphasis on long term health over short term weight loss. I believe lasting weight loss and finding your ideal weight is a side effect of being healthy. I also don't believe that meal replacement shakes should be used as a way to restrict calories. They should be used to give you quality, convenient calories that promote health. If you want to know why I don't believe in calorie restriction we have a couple other posts about that, Calorie Deficit Diets, The Truth Revealed and Stop Eating Less and Exercising More. I also have a bias towards restricting artificial foods, flavors, and preservatives. I compared the chocolate shake from the following companies:
Calorie and Macronutrient Information
When I first started looking at these numbers I originally didn't include the serving size. I then realized that it is needed to accurately look at nutritional density. The idea is to compare gram for gram, which shake packs in more nutrients. When looking at all of the numbers keep in mind the serving size. For example if you look at total carbs and compare IsaLean to the Herbalife Shake you would think that Herbalife is way better but the serving is less than half, so gram for gram, IsaLean has fewer carbs.
A few other things to pay attention to in this graphic:
Calories. Like I mentioned earlier, shakes shouldn't be a way to restrict calories, so I like to look at the shakes that contain slightly higher values, 150+. All of these shakes if made without adding any extra ingredients would still be pretty low in calories to "replace" a meal, in my opinion. Obviously meal size will be determined by the size of the person but I usually recommend 400+ calories per meal. Carbohydrates... these have a bad reputation in the weight loss world. I would say the average person probably does consume too many calories from carbohydrates, but that doesn't mean you need ZERO to lose weight. The main idea when it comes to carbohydrate management is to avoid carbs that quickly gets transformed into blood sugar or have a high glycemic load. The lower the total carbohydrate, the higher the fiber, and the higher the protein will all lower the glycemic load of a food. One thing you will want to cross reference regarding carbs is whether a shake is artificially sweetened. If they are artificially sweetened the sugar to fiber ratio will be skewed and as I mentioned earlier, I'm not a fan of artificial sweeteners. Keeping that in mind the shakes that I like based on their carbohydrate content and sugar to fiber ratio include; Vega One Nutritional Shake, DoTerra Trim Shake, Beachbody Shakeology, Isagenix Isalean, Garden of Life. I like these because of the higher fiber content and lower % of sugar in regards to total carbohydrates. Overall, fat is pretty negligible across the board. Protein strictly by the numbers, most of these shakes have a good percentage of their calories coming from protein. The only one that is pretty terrible is GNC Lean Shake. We will talk about quality of ingredients later. Vitamin and Mineral Content
This first graphic shows the percentages of the vitamin content in each shake. One thing to consider with this graphic is nutritional density in relation to total grams consumed or total calories. A shake like Thrive Lifestyle Mix is a pretty low calorie shake at 123 calories but has a number of RDA values of 50% or more, so overall pretty nutritionally dense.
The 4 shakes that standout as the ones containing the highest concentration of vitamins per calorie would be IdealShake, Shakeology, Vega One, and IsaLean in that order. Invigor8, Advocare, Arbonne and DoTerra shakes would rank among the worst when it comes to nutritional density. 
This second graphic shows the percentages of the mineral content in each shake. The top 4 shakes from a mineral density are IdealShake, Thrive Lifestyle Mix, Shakeology, and Sanford Profile Meal Replacement.
The other thing to consider when it comes to vitamin and mineral content would be where those vitamins are coming from. Are they synthetically created and added? For example if you read IdealShake's ingredient list it would say Niacinamide and Potassium Chloride. Those things aren't bad for you. However, when you get vitamins and minerals from whole food ingredients your body is able to absorb those nutrients more effectively. So when you read your ingredient list, make sure you look for ingredients that sound like foods rather than chemicals. If you are getting these nutrients from food, you are also benefiting by getting the phytonutrients that come along with those foods. These are lost entirely when you are consuming a shake that was made using lab created vitamins and minerals. Shakeology, Garden of Life and Vega One are the three shakes that have the most comprehensive list of foods that go into their shakes. Isalean, Thrive, Invigor8 and Arbonne include some whole foods that make the vitamins and minerals more easily absorbed. The remaining shakes from what I can tell use synthetic vitamins and minerals to get their nutrient content. Pre and Probiotic Content
If you are new to the world of prebiotics and probiotics let me explain what they are very briefly. Probiotics are bacteria that populate your gastrointestinal tract. We have about 10 times the number of bacteria living in our GI tract than human cells. So essentially we are more bacteria than we are human. These bacteria provide a whole host of benefits to our bodies from metabolic regulation, immune function, cravings, and improved digestive issues to name a few. The science is still pretty new around how our gut health affects the health of our entire body but we know it is important to have a healthy gut.
Prebiotics are essentially food for the probiotics to eat and therefore survive. Nearly all the shakes include prebiotic fiber in them. It's important to feed the good bacteria in our gut the stuff it needs, rather than feed the bad bacteria which can lead to conditions like SIBO and candida overgrowth. Only 7 of them contain probiotics, so it makes it pretty easy to pick out the best ones in this category. 
Digestive Enzymes
Staying on the theme of gut health, let's talk digestive enzymes next. Essentially what these can do is help break down our food into smaller pieces so our body can more easily process it.
There are a few standouts when it comes to this category. Isalean and Garden of Life have the most comprehensive mix of enzymes. After that Thrive and IdealShake have a pretty good mix. Shakeology has a heavy focus on carbohydrate enzymes but lacks protein and lipid enzymes. All the other shakes fail in this category. (Make sure to click on the image to enlarge)
Adaptogens and Herbs
This category might seem a little strange to the average health conscious person. Adaptogens are foods that "adapt" to their current environment. Things like ashwagandha and astragalus are herbs that can regulate your immune system. If your immune system needs help fighting off disease, these will ramp it up. If your body is having an auto immune response and it needs to calm down, these herbs will slow it down. They adapt!
Other items on this list help with energy production at the cellular level. Things like schisandra and maca are great for this. Many of these adaptogens also have a incredibly high antioxidant properties like reishi and cordyceps mushrooms. Antioxidant rich foods are powerful for your immune system and reducing inflamation throughout your body. I won't go into a ton of detail about these specific ingredients, but the clear winner when it comes to adaptogens is Shakeology. A few other shakes have included a single adaptogen which is great that they recognize the value in them. Additional Ingredients and Certifications
This is one of the most important graphics I think when comparing shakes. Like I said, I have a few things on my non-negotiable list, especially when it comes to something I would be consuming daily. First, I'm gluten sensitive and therefore this is a must. If you are also I would recommend testing any of these shakes out or running it past your doctor. There are only a couple that are "certified" gluten free but a lot that claim that they are but just don't have the certification. After that I prefer to avoid products that contain GMO's, soy, artificial anything and hydrogenated oils. I don't claim to be perfect with all of these but I certainly don't consume anything daily that contains any of these items.
With that, there are only 7 shakes that meet my criteria and would benefit a person's health; Shakeology, Isalean, DoTerra, Vega One, Arbonne, Invigor8, and Garden of Life. This is actually where I would personally start, and then work my way back up the blog post looking at these shakes as my options for a daily shake. That's why I've highlighted them in this graphic. If you aren't as strict as I am when it comes to these added ingredients then by all means use all of this information however you would like to find the right shake for you. Cost
I should note that all of these shakes are priced out at the retail value. A lot of the companies that sell these shakes have member options that get you reduced pricing but to keep it consistent I wanted to share the retail. If you decide to drink one of these shakes regularly I would encourage you to look into some of those discounts.
Hopefully by now you've realized that comparing a lot of these shakes isn't an apples to apples comparison and the price reflects that. The price of these shakes tend to reflect the ingredient list in them. For the most part I would say as the price of the shakes go up so do the nutritional benefits and quality of ingredients. For the shakes on the higher end with a higher nutritional value, you are still coming out ahead of what it would cost you to order a healthy meal at a restaurant and would be very comparable to making a healthy meal at home. For some of the cheaper shakes I would argue that you are just buying calories. It's something to consume to hold you over until your next meal but they aren't making you any healthier. Unfortunately a lot of people will begin their decision making process with this chart. I would encourage you to look at all the other categories above and pick the shake that will help you in the way that you need it. Then figure out a way to make that dollar amount work in your budget. It might mean giving up a night out a week at a restaurant, or forgoing the daily Starbucks trip or giving up cable TV. Your health is like an investment that you can start building up a positive or negative balance at a young age. Most people don't see the benefits or the negative side effects until they are much older and often it's too late to make big changes. Final Thoughts
I hope I've laid out enough information that you can make an educated decision on your own and not have to sort through a bunch of crap out there on the internet to get a straight answer on what is included in these shakes. I also hope I presented the facts in a fair manner and highlighted the things that you would want to know before choosing a shake. I'm happy to answer questions about any of my views and why we have chosen to drink the shake that we do.
I'll close with this thought... A lot of people scrutinize the safety of these shakes which is great and is why I put this post together. I would also encourage you to use that same level of care and concern when it comes to the other foods you eat regularly. None of these shakes are either toxic enough to make you sick on their own or nutritious enough to keep you healthy on their own. It's a combination of everything you put into your body. Thanks for reading!
I have to apologize that you've been missing out on recipe posts and nutritional posts lately. We are in a stage of life right now where things are just a little crazy in our home and work world. If you follow us, you know that we just bought an RV...if you don't know what that is all about, check out this post. That entire process was SO time consuming!! Being a first time RV buyer there is SO much to take into account. Length... Slideouts... Diesel or Gas... How old are the tires? BTW if tires are 12 years old they need to be replaced and RV tires aren't cheap. Goodbye $2,800! Those are just a few of the things that you have to think about when looking into buying one. AND THEN you have to learn how to drive the thing!
Now that we have all of that behind us. Our focus has shifted to renovating our new home. We want to make it feel like OUR home...so we're going to be attempting to take the "factory production line feel" away. Just a heads up that there are Facebook groups of 15,000+ solely dedicated renovating RV interiors. Who knew??? We are also working on selling our vehicles and buying a new one that has the ability to be towed behind our RV. We are selling off, donating or trashing pretty much everything in our 1,200 square foot townhome in order to get things to fit into our new 250 square foot home. Let's just say I am turning into a Craigslist ninja. Did you know that there is a national craigslist search option? Yeah someone figured out how to do that. 
First family trip in the RV. Taking it out to my parent's house.
Other things on the horizon of our life...
Last time I was at Augusta National back in 2004.
So yeah that is what our last month and the next month look like for us. It's been a pretty wild experience so far. With all of this craziness right now we are just trying to keep our heads above water.
Laura is still running accountability groups and mentoring coaches on our team. We are still working out pretty much daily, drinking our Shakeology daily, eating healthy 80-90% of the time. To us that stuff has become a habit or a non-negotiable which is great at this point. That wouldn't have always been the case. Five years ago I would have been too tired to workout and eating frozen pizza for the convenience. So yeah we have to apologize for not having as much content on the blog but that will all change soon. Plus we will be sharing some of our crazy adventures from the road. Thanks for reading! 
We heard about the launch of this program when we were down in Nashville this past summer. My first impression was, wow, what a terrible name. We are going to tell people to go get "Hammered" and then I guess chiseled too. It kind of made me laugh. It doesn't quite roll off the tongue like P90X, Insanity, or 21 Day Fix.
Watching the promo video (posted below) though I got super excited for the style of this workout. I also thought it was a great way to get more women away from the treadmills and go pick up some weights. There is so much science out there that points out the metabolism boosting and health benefits of resistance training for both men and women. Here is Laura's take on lifting weights, Ladies, Don't Skip the Heavy Weights. I 
I have no idea how the idea of women getting bulky actually started. I'm guessing it either stems from cover models of the 1980's and 90's that were rail thin so any visible sign of muscle would seem "bulky" in comparison. I think that image is/was more prevalent than the hulk like woman that may or may not have been taking steroids to gain ridiculous amounts of muscle. Either way I think we can all agree that both those extremes are not healthy, and from a guy's perspective not attractive. Women, unless you have an extraordinary amount of testosterone, combined with ridiculous amounts of food, combined with super intense workouts you will not get bulky. Yes you need all three for that to happen.
To the guys now, I can't begin to tell you how awesome this program is for us. It is a perfect combination of heavy lifting and high intense plyometric style workouts to help us shed fat and get ripped. This program also comes along with portion control containers that will help you either lose, maintain or gain weight. Personally my plan is to gain weight with this program, so the containers will help me get the right amount of food from the right areas to really maximize my results. Plus I'm looking forward to getting some seriously shredded abs!
Let's talk about what this program is all about and why both Laura and I are super excited for it. First off, we love that this program combines workouts from two different trainers. We love the style of workout that both of these trainers have done previously, so if it is even close to those we know we will love it. Having two trainers will also help keep things fresh too. You won't have to listen to the same trainer for 60 days straight! So here are the details...
PROGRAM DEATILS: It is a 60 day program, done 6 days a week. Workout lengths range from 24-41 minutes. REQUIRED EQUIPMENT: Dumbbells (3 sets preferably, light, medium, heavy), workout bench OR stability ball, chin-up bar OR resistance band with door attachment (not included in base kit). RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT: Yoga Mat or Beachbody Core Comfort Mat are helpful but not required. Medicine Ball. There are 4 different types of kits. Here’s what is included in each one: Base Kit: 14 workouts on 6 DVD's plus 1 additional workout when you order through a Beachbody Coach, seven color coded portion control containers, Shakeology shaker cup, Workout Calendar, Quick Start Guide, Fitness and Nutrition Guide. Deluxe Kit: Everything from the Base Kit plus 4 additional workouts, an extra set of portion control containers, 8 lb medicine ball. Base Kit Shakeology Challenge Pack: Everything from the Base Kit plus a 30 Day Supply of Shakeology, 30 Day Free Trial Club Membership that includes Beachbody On Demand. Base Kit Performance Challenge Pack: Everything from the Base Kit plus two supplements from the new Beachbody Performance line, Energize and Recover, a pre and post workout supplement to maximize your workout performance and recovery. This package also gets you a 30 Day Free Trial Club Membership that includes Beachbody On Demand. 
WORKOUT DESCRIPTIONS
Chisel Balance: A total-body workout creating stabilization, muscular endurance, and core strength. Iso Strength Chisel: An intense resistance workout using isometric holds and flexibility to increase strength. Chisel Endurance: Increase muscular endurance and strength in this time-under-tension workout. Chisel Cardio: The cardiovascular resistance routine will increase heart rate, circulation, and burn an intense amount of calories. Chisel Agility: A challenging cardio workout that will help you move quickly, improve coordination, and create greater stabilization. Total Body Chisel: This full-body resistance workout focuses on creating lean muscle and strength. Hammer Plyometrics: This jump training workout will use your entire body to create force, speed, and power. Iso Speed Hammer: A tempo training workout that uses speed and isometric holds to create strength and grow muscle. Total Body Hammer: A hypertrophy workout focused on pyramid-style sets to maximize strength and muscle growth. Max Hammer Strength: Start with a pre-fatigued muscle, finish with a maximum lift. Increase strength, power, and muscular development. Hammer Power: This intense powerlifting-inspired workout will increase speed, reactive strength, and power. Hammer Conditioning: A workout based on compound movements that will improve stability, coordination, and strength. 10 Min Ab Chisel: This core-crusher will transform your midsection, without ever getting on the floor. 10 Min Ab Hammer: Carve definition into your core while strengthening your entire ab complex. Here are some of our coach friends that were a part of the Beachbody Test Group. This program works!
If you would like some more information about this program and whether or not it would be a good fit for you and to help you reach your goals, click on any of the images or submit your email address below. We have our own Test Group starting on December 21st too! For more information about that shoot as email, reach out on Facebook, or submit your name through any of the links on this page. Let's Get Hammered! And Chiseled!
I wrote up another blog post not long long ago about the concept of ambivalence. The idea that you can hold contradictory desires in your head at the same time. If you are overweight, I'm guessing this is the conversation in your head. It would be nice to lose some weight and fit into some old clothes but... I just don't have the time or energy to tackle something new right now. My job is busy, the kids are crazy with activities and life, and I just love french fries way too much. Plus I'm not that out shape.
You've maybe tried a diet or exercise program or gym membership but as soon as you start going with that, you look in the rearview mirror and you think how comfortable you were before, and how hard this is now. The change doesn't seem as sexy anymore and you revert back. Then things get bad enough again where changing some things seems like a good idea... and.... Am I close??? 
That was my thinking at the time of my before picture. I had those voices inside my head. I didn't think I was that out of shape, and to be honest, compared to some I wasn't. I thought I was doing a decent job of working out eating. I didn't wake up one morning and all of a sudden I weighed 25 lbs more than I should. NO... those pounds crept on slowly through all of those little decisions I was making or not making. I had already set the cruise control on the way to Diabetesville in the land of Obesedom.
Does any of that sound like where you are at with your health journey? Do you struggle with those same doubts and hesitations? It's ok, those are natural. Here's the awesome thing, you can change! For me I finally said enough was enough I surrendered myself to a process to get healthier and fit. It was hard! I didn't like it! That process pushed me to get uncomfortable. It taught me to relearn a lot of things when it came to diet and exercise.
It's been a 3 year journey since that before photo! I'm proud to say I haven't put the weight back on like so many statistics say should have happened. The only thing I can give credit to for that is being held accountable for my decisions. Yeah I not only coach people how to make changes, I'm doing the work too. I'm constantly learning and growing in this journey. That's what makes it fun for me.
3 Tips to Get Control of the Voices in Your Head
With that I would love to extend a couple invitations to you if you want to start moving through these steps. First off, if you are ready to surrender your current lifestyle and habits and start rebuilding some new ones, Laura and I have an online accountability group that starts on Monday, November 30th. Being a part of one of these groups was the process that started my transformation. This will be a 5 week group on Facebook where you will get nutritional advice, daily motivation, a community that will support you, and a chance to win some prizes. Serious what do you have to lose? Why not hit the New Year running? Secondly, if you know that you won't stay committed by just wading into this fitness and health thing. Or maybe you've done a couple groups with us but just haven't quite felt that real motivation to change. If you know it will take the pressure of people looking up to you to truly commit. Why not jump in the deep end and give this coaching thing a try? Oh and don't worry the deep end isn't that deep. We make sure to help you get started right so that you can be successful with your weight loss and your business. That's the best of both worlds right, get healthy and make some money! If you would like to know more about coaching, shoot us an email, we would love to chat. 
Did your parents ever tease you with presents when you were younger? This wasn't the norm in our house but it did happen a few times. Or vacation??? Your parents tell you that in 6 months you will be heading to Disney World. That next 6 months is now torture. As a kid you get so excited and just can't wait.
Well... Beachbody dropped a similar bomb on us this past week. We found out about a few new programs and products that are coming out. I guess one of them is available right away but the other two we have to wait until next year. So if we have to wait in anticipation, we want you to suffer too!! Here are the three new programs and products that are or will be available. Active Maternity
This series of workouts is available exclusively to Beachbody Club Members. As a club member one of the benefits is Beachbody On Demand which is the online streaming platform that Beachbdy recently released.
There are 4 total workouts:
All of these workouts do require dumbbells. If you would like more info on these workouts or to try them for free for 30 days, reach out via EMAIL, or comment below. 22 Minute Hard Corps
If you're willing to step up and commit to spending 8 weeks with Tony Horton and 22 Minute Hard Corps™, you'll walk away Boot Camp Fit—even in the best shape of your life. It won't just give you a mission-ready physique—you're going to have to earn it—but Tony supplies you with all the tools and motivation you need to blow past the limits of what you thought you could do.
GET "BOOT CAMP FIT" FROM HEAD TO TOE WITH THE QUICK, MILITARY-INSPIRED, NO-NONSENSE WORKOUT.
Fitness doesn't get much simpler than this. 22 Minute Hard Corpsis a quick, no-nonsense, boot camp workout program. You just show up…keep up…and you will get in great shape. The training is basic, but the results are absolutely epic.
We would love to keep you up to date on the launch of this program. If it looks like you would want to try you can simply click on the link below. Also the first 15 people to respond will have first access to our Test Group that will start when the program comes out.
Cafè Latte Shakeology
Café Latte flavor Shakeology is the newest flavor in the Shakeology family. It has an exclusive ingredient, Whole Coffee Fruit, which is the cherry-like fruit surrounding the coffee bean. Coffee fruit is used in Café Latte Shakeology because it not only adds great taste, it's a superfood. Café Latte Shakeology has the same protein blend and superfood profile as Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry, and Greenberry and the same superfood ingredients as all the other formulas as well.
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. 
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.
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.  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!
 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. 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. |
The Cook & The CoachHealthy is a LIFESTYLE. 
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