The Cook & The Coach Blog

What is a Beachbar?

3/25/2018

What is a Beachbar?

A place that serves fruity cocktails that have umbrellas in them... No but I do like that kind of Beach Bar too!

Beachbody recently launched an all new snack bar to their line of nutritionals and supplements to help promote healthy eating. Somehow their marketing department landed on "Beachbar" as the winner for what they would call it. Not the most clever but oh well as long as it tastes good and has quality ingredients I guess I could care less what they call it.

So I wanted to share a little bit about this bar;

What it is and what it isn't
The nutrition facts
The ingredients
What it costs
How does it compare to other bars
How can you add it into your daily meal plan

What It Is and What It Isn't

I would call Beachbar a snack bar. The term protein bar gets thrown around way too loosely in the nutrition world out there. In my opinion in order to qualify as a protein bar the bar would have to get a majority of it's calories from protein. Very few bars on the market are a true protein bar. If you are curious to start doing math, a gram of protein and carbohyrdrate both have 4 calories, and a gram of fat has 9 calories. With 10 grams of protein in each bar it get's roughly 26% of it's total calories from protein. That leaves 74% to come from fat and carbs. Overall I would consider it is a balanced macronutrient bar.

This bar is made from whole foods with no artificial colors, flavors or sweeteners. That's a win in my book and something I definitely look for in other bars that I've consumed in the past.

It is a snack, not a meal! At only 150 calories you likely wouldn't want to replace a meal with solely 1 bar. With the protein and fiber content it will for sure stave off some hunger for a while. When I sampled it, it was good enough to hold me over between breakfast and a late lunch.

The Nutrition Facts

At this point they only have 2 flavors, I have no idea if they will release more in the future. However I did participate in a poll that asked me what kind of flavors I would enjoy if they added others, so that's promising!

Chocolate Cherry Almond
Nutrition Facts

Peanut Butter Chocolate
Nutrition Facts

Facts are facts so they don't need a whole lot of explaining. As I mentioned above they are pretty balanced from a macronutrient standpoint. The are pretty low in sugar for a snack bar. They are a decent source of protein and fiber. They are low in sodium. They are also lower in vitamins and minerals which is pretty much the norm for this kind of bar.

The Ingredients

Let's see what's in them...

Peanut Butter Chocolate Ingredients: Peanuts, Cocoa Whey Crisps (Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Tapioca Starch, Cocoa Powder [Processed with Alkali]), Isomalto-oligosaccharides (Prebiotic Fiber from Tapioca), Chocolate Coating (Cane Sugar, Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa Powder, Sunflower Lecithin, Salt), Pea Crisps (Pea Protein, Rice Starch), Pea Protein, Chocolate Chips (Cane Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter), Cane Sugar, Vegetable Glycerin, Tapioca Syrup, Sunflower Oil, Sunflower Lecithin, Pomegranate Juice Concentrate, Himalayan Pink Salt, Natural Flavors, Almonds, Stevia Leaf Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (Mixed Tocopherols, Sunflower Oil) to preserve freshness

Chocolate Cherry Almond Ingredients: Almonds, Cocoa Whey Crisps (Whey Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Concentrate, Tapioca Starch, Cocoa Powder [Processed with Alkali]), Isomalto-oligosaccharides (Prebiotic Fiber from Tapioca), Chocolate Coating (Cane Sugar, Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa Powder, Sunflower Lecithin, Salt), Pea Protein, Chocolate Chips (Cane Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter), Dried Cherries, Cane Sugar, Vegetable Glycerin, Tapioca Syrup, Sunflower Oil, Sunflower Lecithin, Pomegranate Juice Concentrate, Natural Flavors, Himalayan Pink Salt, Stevia Leaf Extract, Mixed Tocopherols (Mixed Tocopherols, Sunflower Oil) to preserve freshness

A few more ingredients than a Larabar, or Rx Bar but let's take a look at what they all are and what their purpose is and how they can affect you.

Peanuts and Almonds: If you have nut allergies these bars aren't for you. Both of these ingredients provide some of the total protein in the bar plus a majority of the fat content. It's nice to see that they are the main ingredient rather than some obscure ingredient.  Good Ingredient!

Whey Crisps: These are a blend of a few ingredients to give the bars a bit of texture and another source of protein. Whey comes from milk, so if you have allergies, steer clear. If you just have an intolerance I doubt the level of lactose in these is significant enough to affect you but consult your physician if you are concerned. Overall I believe these add to the value of the bar by upping the protein content. Good Ingredient!

Isomalto-oligosaccharides: This would be one of those things that if you follow the rule, if you can't pronounce it, don't eat it. Well I could help you pronouce but that will take too long so let me just say this is actually a pretty good ingredient to include in the bar. Essentially it is a fiber that helps with satiety, improves your gut health, and improves your digestion and it is derived from plants. If you want to read more on it, this was a pretty easy to read article that cited some scientific studies. Good Ingredient!

Chocolate Coating: We love chocolate! We believe in moderation and if you choose the right kind it can actually be good for you. I wrote a whole other article on that, Let's Talk Chocolate!  The ingredients in the chocolate coating are... ok! I wouldn't consider this healthy chocolate but looking back to the nutrition facts you are getting very little sugar overall so the serving size of chocolate would have minimal effect if any negative health consequences. It's more here for taste then anything. I do like that they sourced a chocolate made with sunflower lecithin versus the soy version, so that's a bonus. Neutral Ingredient.

Pea Protein and Crisps: These things are there to help with the protein content. They are further down the ingredient list likely because too much of them would likely negatively affect the taste of the bar. Good ingredient!

Chocolate Chips: Same thoughts here as the chocolate coating for the most part. Slightly better but still likely not a healthy chocolate.  Neutral Ingredient.

Sweeteners (Vegetable Glycerin, Cane Sugar, Dried Cherries, Pomegranate Extract, Stevia Leaf Extract): I figured I would lump all these together rather than address them individually. Overall there is a total of 5 grams of sugar in this whole bar. Some of that comes with the chocolate ingredients listed above, some because of these ingredients. Overall I wouldn't be concerned with 5 grams of sugar in this bar. The cherries and pomegranate extract do bring along some good phytonutrients and antioxidants along for the ride so that is a positive. I know some are turned off by the stevia aftertaste, but having tried these bars I didn't notice any of that. Vegetable glycerin was a new one to me so I had to look that up. Essentially that is a plant based sugar alcohol likely made from palm or coconut. Browsing a few articles it doesn't appear to have any negative health effects other than it's potential as a laxative in HIGH doses, but you aren't getting that in this bar. This bar did get a low glycemic certification also which would suggest it has minimal impact on a healthy person's blood sugar levels. If you have blood sugar issues like diabetes you may want to consult your physician. Neutral Ingredient.

Sunflower Oil and Sunflower Lecithin: I would say there is nothing good or bad about these items. They help create the texture of the bar. There isn't anything inherently bad with them or good with them. Since they are at the end of the ingredient list, I wouldn't worry about them.  Neutral Ingredient

Natural Flavors: Oh that elusive word you see on so many labels. What does it really mean. Well good news the FDA does regulate the use of it so it isn't a catch all for all the chemical crap. Here is there definition, “the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”  Knowing Beachbody's track record with the ingredients that it puts in it's other supplements I doubt anything shady goes into this bar as a natural flavor. It would be great if they could make this bar taste good without this but I guess it isn't a deal breaker for me.  Neutral Ingredient.

Himalayan Pink Salt: Salt makes things taste good! At 85-90 mg of sodium I wouldn't worry about it and at least they got it from a good source.  Good Ingredient!

Mixed Tocopherols: This is a natural antioxidant/preservative that is derived from sunflower seeds. Let's be honest this is a packaged food and they want it to last longer than a week on a shelf, a warehouse, or shipping truck so some sort of preservative is needed. There is some mixed messages I got this ingredient whether it is good or bad for an individual. There were some studies published on Pubmed that said it was completely safe for human consumption. There were some animal studies that suggested it may raise the risk of cancer, at least in mice. I like always like to think of the quote, "The Dose Makes the Poison." Beings there isn't definitive human studies from what I found, I would say that the small amount in these bars would have no negative health impact on a person. If you are concerned I suggest you do your own research. Neutral Ingredient.

So those are the ingredients, sorry I wrote so much but if you are thorough enough to search out information on these bars you are likely the kind of person that wants all the information and not just the cherry-picked data that has a marketing slant to it.

Overall I would say this food is neither a health food nor a unhealthy food. It's calories come from quality sources. Is it better than a Snickers, yes! Is it as good as bowl of broccoli, no! So it really depends on how you use it and what it displaces in your diet whether or not it would improve your health. I think it would be a quality snack for most. Personally I really like that they kept it gluten and soy free too!

What Does It Cost?

Affordability... we know your money doesn't grow on trees and neither do Beachbars...well the almonds in them do, so... I'll be honest these aren't the cheapest bar on the market but they certainly aren't the most expensive either.

Beachbars will be sold in packs of 15 and retail for $39.80 or $2.65 per bar. That price puts it on the higher end compared to other snack bars but pretty close to most protein bars.

How Does it Compare To Other Bars?

There are hundreds of other bars on the market and a lot of different ways you can compare them. I thought this graphic highlighted a few key pieces and how the Beachbar stacks up against some of the more popular snack bars.

It's lower in sugar, higher in protein and fiber! Basically what that means is that it isn't going to spike your blood sugar as much as others. It will also likely keep you full longer due to the slower digesting protein and fiber elements. Which means if if you are trying to lose weight, you won't be hangry in between meals if you use a bar like this to tide you over.

†Competitive bar nutrition information collected January 2018 for the following brands and flavors: KIND www.kindsnacks.com/products/kind-nut-bars/peanut-butter-dark-chocolate-bar-bar CLIF shop.clifbar.com/CLIF-Bar-Chocolate-Chip-Peanut-Crunch/p/CLIF-101303&c=ClifBar@ClifBar@Bars RXBAR-www.rxbar.com/shop/peanut-butter-chocolate-whole-protein-bar-box-of-12-bar.html-LARABAR-www.larabar.com/our-products/larabar/peanut-butter-chocolate-chip KIND is a trademark of KIND LLC. RXBAR is a trademark of Chicago Bar Company LLC. CLIF BAR is a trademark of Clif Bar & Company. LÄRABAR is a trademark of General Mills Specialty Products, LLC.

How Can You Add This Into Your Daily Meal Plan

As I've eluded to already, this bar is going to be best be used as a snack substitute. It could replace other bars that you've maybe used. It could replace a trail mix that you used to snack on. It could replace the chocolate chip scone from Starbucks, please don't eat those everyday!

If you've never been a snacker you could also use it as an experiment and add it in to your morning or afternoon and see how you feel. Some people do just fine without snacks and can keep portion sizes in control. Some need that little shot of food to keep their energy levels up.

I could certainly see us eating this when we travel as a convenient snack that tastes great, doesn't take any prep work, and will satisfy our hunger. I could also see them used as a great pre-workout snack. Combine it with some Energize and you are fueled up for a workout with a decent shot of protein and carbs to get you through it.

If you are a diehard Beachbody person and using the containers a Beachbar will count as a 1/2 a red and 1/2 yellow container, just FYI.

Hope that information has helped you learn more about these bars. If you have any questions by all means reach out via email or in the comments below.

If you would like to try a box of these bars just follow the link below that matches up with your flavor and quantity preference. Bars go on sale beginning April 7th, 2018.

1 Box - 15 Count

Peanut Butter Chocolate

Chocolate Cherry Almond

2 Boxes - 15 Count per Box/30 Total

1 PB Chocolate, 1 Choc Cherry Almond

2 Peanut Butter Chocolate

2 Chocolate Cherry Almond

3 Boxes - 15 per Box/45 Total

1 PB Chocolate, 2 Choc Cherry Almond

2 PB Chocolate, 1 Choc Cherry Almond

3 Peanut Butter Chocolate

3 Chocolate Cherry Almond

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Golf, Beer and Supplements

11/5/2017

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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.

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Exercise Is A Lot Like Dating

10/6/2017

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Exercise can be a lot like dating.

You try a few different versions out. Some are pretty good and you and stick with them for a while but you maybe get bored or you just stop clicking. Others are just ok but don't get you too excited. A few are just terrible and you would be ok if you never tried them again.

Then... then you find that perfect match. You are committed! You enjoy your time when you are doing that exercise or with that special person. Yeah it is still work and you have to put effort into it daily but it is something you usually look forward to coming back to the next day. Not always. Let's be honest, we all have days don't want to workout or you don't want to put effort into your relationship. When you are with the right person, or doing your soulmate workout those periods pass quickly.

We just celebrated our 9 year anniversary this week. What a blessing the past 9 years have been for both of us. It was almost 11 years ago that we found each other and haven't looked back!

Nine Years in the Books

All of those 11 years we've been active, playing volleyball, running, going to the gym. It's was about 6 years ago though that Laura found her soulmate workout, Insanity! For me it was Focus T25 and later P90X3. Pretty much the perfect workout for us was one that we could do in the comfort of our own home or just outside our RV! We have been able to stay consistent and show up nearly everyday for our workouts.

All from working out at home

That just didn't happen for us elsewhere...

For us the gym was like that person that you are attracted to physically but just don't connect with emotionally or mentally. We tried going and had gym memberships for years but never really accomplished anything.

We also both dabbled with running! I was a former cross country runner and Laura ran track. After we graduated from college running became like that blind date that your friend set you up on. You know it's going to be awkward and painful. No thank you!!!

We never did try Crossfit but I could imagine that would be like taking your date out to the most expensive restaurant in town. Then after dinner your date takes you to a big orgy where limbs and sweat are flying everywhere. People are comparing themselves to others and walking around slapping each other on the butt! Sorry crossfitters it's the best comparison I could come up with, I think I would actually join a crossfit gym if it was right next to my house and I had some more cash!

Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with those kinds of workouts. We know a lot of people that have had a lot of success at the gym or running! They have stayed consistent and continue to put the work in and show up everyday. They've seen results and that's what it is all about.

Fitness for us looked a little different and that has worked incredibly well for us. I believe there is a soulmate workout and form of exercise out there for everyone. Maybe it's dancing, maybe it's powerlifting, or maybe it's running. If you've tried a bunch of workouts that just don't click, don't give up, just keep trying!

I will say one other thing though that the environment (people and place) plays a big role.

Maybe you like going to the gym but the one you go to has a bunch of douchey bodybuilders that are grunting all the time flexing in the mirror more than they are working out. Don't give up on gym, just find another one with different people.
Maybe you like yoga but hate doing it around other people for fear of letting out a loud fart, maybe you need to try doing it at home.
Maybe you love the community of your crossfit gym but hate having to drive to workout, maybe you need to find a way to have a community around you yet can still workout from home.

We would love to know what you've found to be your soulmate workout! If you haven't found one, let us know if we can help you find it!

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Shift Shop Tracking Worksheets

7/27/2017

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After doing multiple rounds of Body Beast and Hammer and Chisel, one thing I learned is, in order to make progress you need to track your actions. When it comes to doing a program with weights, that means taking Tony Horton's advice and WRITE. IT. DOWN.

I was a little shocked that Beachbody didn't create a tracking sheet themselves for their latest program, Shift Shop. Having a little experience creating Hammer and Chisel worksheets, I figured I would do it again for this program too.

Here are are the worksheets for the 3 strength workouts that you will do during this program:

Strength 25 Worksheet

Strength 35 Worksheet

Strength 45 Worksheet

There is also a bonus workout called Super Strength 50. The participants mainly use a sandbag for all the moves in this workout but if you don't have a sandbag or if it is too light or too heavy you can use dumbbells and track it via this worksheet.

Super Strength 50 Worksheet

I hope this helps you make progress as you move through the 21 days of this program. If for some reason you found this page but aren't working with a coach currently we would love to offer our support and knowledge to you as you go through this program. You can learn more "Who We Are" or just shoot us an email.

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Shift Shop Details

6/30/2017

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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.

Using his cutting-edge ramp effect, Chris starts you off with shorter workouts to help you stay focused and committed—without burning you out.

Just as your body adapts, Chris ups the level of activity and intensity just enough to continue to accelerate your endurance and your results.

Chris cranks up everything for the last time, ultimately shifting your body from the one you had 3 weeks ago to one that’s significantly faster, stronger, and leaner.

Meet Chris Downing

Proven Results

Want 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.

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21 Day Fix Extreme RESULTS

4/11/2017

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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!!

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Are You Living a SuperLife?

1/31/2017

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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.

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I'm Not a Fitness or Nutrition Professional...How Can I Help Others?

12/5/2016

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Don’t think you’re qualified to help other people get healthy?

Do you think you have to be a personal trainer or have some degree to do what we do?

Think you have to be in perfect shape or have all the answers?

Think again.

Do you have a HEART that breaks when you see people hurting? Do you have EARS to listen? Do you have PASSION and FIRE to help others? Do you want to SERVE others greatly and help them change their life? Do you want to make a little extra $$? I put the financial benefits last, but they’re certainly not least. There are so many companies out there now that can make you a little extra money (Thirty-One, Pampered Chef, Jamberry, Younique, DoTerra, Rodan & Fields)…the key is finding one that fits YOUR passions and the things you’re excited about…while fulfilling someone else’s need.

I have to pinch myself day in and day out because I truly can’t believe this opportunity and how it’s changed our lives and changed me from the inside. I’m not going to lie…I didn’t have a lot of weight to lose when I first started, so I don’t have an incredible physical transformation like some people. My transformation has been mainly from the inside. Since becoming a Beachbody coach I have become more confident in my own skin AND in my abilities. I’ve become stronger and able to get past my struggles and insecurities. My focus and time management has gotten better because heck, life is busy but if you have a DREAM you find ways to make things happen. Do I still struggle with these every once in a while? Heck yes. BUT the emphasis that Beachbody puts on personal development and growth definitely makes those struggles easier to get through.

The blessing that coaching has been in my life is just incredible. I share this not to somehow help myself but to help you! Beachbody can be that community you are looking for. It can be the thing that keeps you committed to working out and taking care of your health. If you want to know more about what this coaching community and business opportunity is all about we would love to share it with you.

I'm Interested

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Core De Force Launch Details

11/1/2016

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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:

Boxing, Kickboxing, and Muay Thai combinations that engage your core from every angle
Bodyweight training that sculpts overall definition
Explosive cardio intervals to max your calorie burn

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill workout—this is CORE DE FORCE. And if you’re ready to fight for the body you’ve always wanted, you won’t be disappointed…

Check Out These Results!

Core De Force FAQs

How 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:

10 workouts plus a bonus workout if ordered through a Team Beachbody Coach (that's us)
Quickstart Guide
Eating Plan
Workout Calendar
The Cook & The Coach as your personal health, wellness and nutritional coach

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.

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Road Trip with Nana

9/17/2016

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We left Minneapolis on July 21st with 3 of us and after 36 hour pit stop in Des Moines we had four in our RV. Laura's mom, aka Nana, joined us on our trip to Nashville. She was coming along with us to babysit Eli during our annual Beachbody Summit event that was taking place the following weekend.

We had a couple pit stops between Des Moines and our final destination. The first one was Hannibal, MO. This was such a fun little town right on the Mississippi River. We were originally only planning on staying one night, however due to some plumbing repairs that we had to do we stayed a second night. This gave us a little time to explore the city. It also gave me a chance to work on some plumbing skills in 100+ degree weather. It was hot!

From Hannibal we moved onto the Gun Creek Recreation area by Benton, IL. Other than our first campsite being on too big of slope to level out our RV safely, this campground was fantastic. Big, roomy campsites that were right on a lake. Oh and it was cheap! Definitely a great spot and if pass through southern Illinois again we will for sure make a stop here.

After one night in Illinois we made our final drive to Nashville. It was only a 4 hour drive roughly. We happened to time out our arrival exactly as a thunderstorm was rolling in and knocked out all the power in the park we were staying. Not a huge issue other than needing to run the generator on our RV for an hour or so. It was hot and humid and our AC's needed to be cranked up!

We made it to Nashville! Now to prepare for our coaches to arrive and learn, sweat, and have some fun with them.

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Do You, Don't Let The World Miss Out

8/17/2016

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We each have a story. Things that have shaped us and changed us and formed us into the people we are today.

We each have a CHOICE as to what we're going to do with those things. You can choose to continue coasting and taking the easy route...simply accepting what's in front of you, swallowing your dreams and never allowing them to surface OR you can go out and find whatever the hell you're looking for!!!

Four years ago I was ready for a change. A change in my fitness routine which then turned into a COMPLETE change in my life...for the better. I never used to dream or have goals. I would simply coast through my days, my weeks, my months with no vision for what I wanted or the type of impact I wanted to have. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to change lives somehow but I had lost my way and gotten complacent. It happens.

But all of a sudden I was thrust into this crazy Beachbody world filled with these people who were talking about goal setting, dreaming bigger, helping and inspiring others, living with purpose....and all of a sudden...God opened my eyes.

I felt in my gut that my purpose was here somewhere....so I jumped in with both feet and my eyes wide open. I started running online accountability groups and fell in love with encouraging people, supporting them, giving them a kick in the butt when they needed it...and then watching them SUCCEED. Watching them slowly lose weight and believe in themselves again and see that they could do the things they never thought possible.

My vision is to help people LIVE FULLY. To empower others and help them see that they are incredible...and can do ANYTHING. To give them HOPE! To inspire people towards health, sweat and proper nutrition and to most importantly, point people to Jesus with love and encouragement.

Who would have thought that this little side job would ever amount to much?? It's changed both of our lives and our health so much that we want as many people as possible to experience what we have.

If you've been following us for awhile and are feeling that nudge or even a bit of curiosity about whether you could do this too, we would love to hear from you. We know it isn't for everyone but we know if you are a follower of ours you likely have a similar heart to help people and this business has been a perfect outlet for us it could be for you too.

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Beachbody Health Bet

8/5/2016

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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?

Workout 3 times per week.
Drink Shakeology 5 times per week.

Pretty simple, right??? These two things have been at the cornerstone of our own health and we know that if people can commit to them on a regular basis they will get healthier! The cool thing about this incentive is if you do them Beachbody is going to pay you top of it.

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"?

Beachbody is kicking in $1 MILLION up front.
They will ad an additional $5 to the pot for every Challenge Pack sold between July 27th - August 31st with a maximum amount of $3,000,000 in the pot!

How do you get a piece of that pie?

Commit to the 2 behaviors mentioned above
Join our challenge group that will start on September 5th (prep week to start on Aug 29th)
Log those behaviors daily in Beachbody's My Challenge Tracker App

That's free money for just doing stuff that is going to help you get closer to your goals. You don't have to put any of your own money on the line and it isn't contingent on you losing weight. If you are interested in joining our group that starts on September 5th taking and taking part in the Beachbody Health Bet click on the link below.

I WANT TO GET HEALTHY AND MAKE MONEY!

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Fixate Cooking Show

8/5/2016

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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.

ENTER TO WIN

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Healthy Home = Healthy Life

7/22/2016

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I want to share some stats and awesome info that I recently read in the book Eat Move Sleep. First off let me give a plug for the book...it's been a great read that goes super fast and has tons of practical tips to help you start making changes in your life. It's not loaded down with science but provides enough to let you know that the stuff he is saying isn't some nonsense he pulled out of thin air.

There is a chapter in the book where he refers to a study of more than 6,000 people that all tried to lose weight and what the common characteristics were of the most successful. A common theme among the successful was being healthy at home. Seems like common sense right??? You spend most of your time there but so many people live in a toxic home that doesn't promote health!

Here were just a few of the interesting stats that the study showed:

92% of the participants found a way to workout from home
78% ate breakfast every day
75% weighed themselves once a week
66% watched less 10 hours of TV per week

I love that first stat and I wish I could say that I knew that before I started working out at home but that was just a complete accident. It makes a ton of sense though! Whether you are doing a Beachbody program, going for a run, or following some fitness app program being active is key. The thing with home workouts that we love is that the convenience and the time we save. Let's be honest most people are busy these days so finding 60-90 minutes to get to a gym, workout, shower, and get home is tough. So if you can roll out of bed lace up your shoes and be done working out in 30 minutes that's a huge plus and I think that is why 92% of the people that were successful found a way to make that happen at home.

Eating breakfast... If you've followed us for a bit you know I've dabbled with Intermittent Fasting. There is a great science behind it and can lead some amazing results. It's a hard thing though for a novice to jump right in to and be successful. I think that is why the breakfast stat is an important one. Eating breakfast is a great way to set the stage for the rest of the day. If you start your day with a quality breakfast you will be a lot less likely to jump at the office donuts or the french fries at lunch. Your cravings will stay in check!

Weighing yourself once a week, this one was a little interesting to me. I get that tracking your progress is a good way to determine if you need to make changes but for the average person they really don't know what changes to make. Other than maybe eat less and exercise more, which we know isn't always a great solution. Plus weight isn't the sole determiner of progress. So we will just let this one go...and agree to disagree.

I love this last stat about TV watching. Frankly because I used to be a 10+ hour a week TV watcher. Let's be honest even the most riveting show gets boring at times so I turned to ice cream to help with that boredom. Mindless TV watching often times leads to mindless eating. On top of that TV watching also means sitting which is terrible for your health. The amount of activity went up substantially when we ditched the cable and we would encourage you to do the same.

Other Ways to "Healthify" Your Home

Clean out your pantry and fridge! If you have junk in the house you will eat it.
Get some quality sleep! Sleep is one of the most underrated things people focus on when it comes to their health. It is vital to get some quality sleep every night and let your body reset. If you want a great book to read on the subject check out Shawn Stevenson's Sleep Smarter.
Eat as a family. Kind of a weird one coming from a nutritional geek but our relationships are key to our health. Slowing down enough to sit around a dinner table and have a conversation with your loved ones will not only help your relationships with your family, it will also set the stage for your kids' kids in their homes.

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Make Fitness Your Business as an Online Health Coach

6/8/2016

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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.

Who is qualified to do this? - The short answer... ANYONE!!! You'll have to watch the video for the long answer.
Can I really make money? And how? - The answer, Yes! Our coaching business supports our lifestyle right now of living on the road and we only see it growing from here
What kind of business is coaching really? - Check out the video for this answer.

One of the things that brings us the greatest joy is when we get to mentor our team and see them awaken to their true potential. We've come across so many people that live with a limited mindset. With thoughts that they aren't important or they could never make a difference. When we can help that person see their value it just gives us goosebumps! That's what this coaching thing really is all about. Yeah we help people get healthy, but we most importantly help people feel valuable! If that intrigues you, check out this video and let us know if you have any questions when you are done watching. We know this isn't for everyone but can be for anyone!

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Meal Replacement Shake Comparison - An unbiased look at the most popular shakes on the market

4/28/2016

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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:

Beachbody's Shakeology
Isagenix Isalean
Herbalife Nutritional Shake
GNC Lean Shake
IdealShape IdealShake
DoTerra Trim Shake
Advocare Meal Replacement Shake
Thrive Lifestyle Mix
Vega One Nutritional Shake
Arbonne Essentials
Sanford Profile Meal Replacement Shake
Invigor8
Shaklee
Garden of Life

I chose these shakes because they are the ones we get asked about most often. If you have a shake that you would like me to analyze that isn't on this list feel free to email us a nutritional label and I can take a look at it. If my information is incorrect about any shake, please let me know that also. My goal is represent every shake fairly with accurate information.

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!

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Plan Your Life, Don't Dream or Wish For One

3/4/2016

Before we even had kids, I knew I wanted to be home with them. I wasn't sure what that would look like though because a part of me still wanted to work and make a difference outside of raising them.

Not gonna lie...it was HARD going back to work after Eli was born...and having Dan stay home with him. I knew it was temporary though. Before he was born we had come up with a plan. A plan that would allow us both to be home...with an end date written down and actually communicated to other people at my job. It wasn't a wish or a dream. When you put dates to dreams and take action...they become plans...and they kinda force you to just make shit happen!

If I'm being honest, it hasn't been easy. There have been SO MANY ups and downs, failures, successes, late nights, early mornings, sleepless nights....but it's made me into the person I am today and I wouldn't change that for anything.

Now I get to sit and read as many books as he wants and my heart just gets excited when I realize that we did it. With God's help and guidance...we made a dream happen.

And now... our focus shifts to helping other people get what they want and help them reach their dreams!

I've learned that when you work to help others, you are more likely to work a lot harder and with more passion. I believe wholeheartedly in the Zig Ziglar quote above. It's not even the financial stuff...

It's knowing that because I believed in them, they believed in themselves and became more confident.

That they can be in control of their future AND be a part of something BIGGER than themselves.

That they are successful, powerful, and empowered women. That they have seen their goals and plans come to fruition.

Those are the things that truly fill my cup and give me a sense of purpose to do what I do every day.

I would love to chat with you if you feel drawn to what we do or how we created the life we have!!

Do What You Love...

2/11/2016

I've been thinking about this saying quite a bit as of late. It comes up in conversations that we have with friends. We hear things like, "That's so great that you get to do something that you love." This isn't new to me, having been a golf professional as a previous profession. For some reason, people just thought I played golf all day. That was definitely not the the case! The same goes for our current jobs as fitness and nutrition coaches. Yeah, we love our job... but it is still work!

That brings me to this saying that floats all over social media or at least the people that I follow. It sounds great but the reality is, it's pretty much a lie!

I don't say that to be a Debbie Downer so let me explain. First off, I'm kind of a literal guy so right off the bat the statement disqualifies itself from being remotely true, unless you "literally" don't work. Secondly, I don't care how much you love your job, it's not always going to be rainbows, unicorns and butterflies. There are going to be times that suck the life out of you. I know I'm not supposed to say that, but it's the truth.

Now that I've deflated your sense of hope you had in thinking that there's a dream career path out there for you let me add the "but", because there is always a but.

Hopefully you agree that you will have to work, we all need to work. It's hard to exist in this world without financial resources. It's even harder to have an impact and serve others without resources; time, money, or talents to name a few. So there is this balance where we need to work to afford ourselves those things while still maintaining our sanity and our relationships.

For us figuring out this balance started when we did an online seminar called Smart Success that was hosted by Chalene Johnson. It was all about working smarter so that you can enjoy some other things in your life. One of the big things she talked about was establishing a list of goals in different areas of your life. She also has you establish a key priority statement which governs all of your decisions. For us that revolved around spending time with our family. We looked at every decision through the lens of, "Does this honor our key priority?"

Man, your world changes when you start thinking like that. Everything from what groceries you buy, to vacations you take, to the work you do are analyzed through that lens. You start cutting out a lot of waste and focusing on things that really help you grow in a direction that you want. You don't let every invitation or opportunity to pull you off your course and onto someone else's.

This is where both Laura and saw the potential in our Beachbody business. Through smart concentrated efforts sustained over a period of time we would be able to have more freedom. We could spend more time together as a family. We could travel more. We wouldn't have to conform to other people's schedules. Along with that we've cut out a lot of the fluff in our life and kept those things that honor our key priority. This frees up resources so that we don't have to make a lot of money and we can live simply.

We are right in a transition point in our life right now where we are leaving the corporate world behind and about to set out on our cross country RV travels. Laura just put in her resignation letter yesterday and we now get to work on OUR business and explore what we are passionate about. Yeah we will still be working from the road.

We love that we found something that we enjoy showing up to do daily. We love that we can do this from wherever. We love that it provides us the resources to live the kind of life we want. We love that that we can still give financially to people and organizations that we want to support. We love that we get to help people get healthy. We love that we get to help others build a business of their own. It's because we love all of that, that we work!

If you would like to know more about what we do as Beachbody coaches feel free to head over to our FAQ page. We are also hosting a live 1 hour event next week in a private event page setup on Facebook. Click on the button below to learn more about this event.

TEAM FULLYFIT COACH HAPPY HOUR

Guess What We Are Doing?

1/28/2016

We have some pretty exciting plans for 2016. We've been telling some close friends and family about these plans and been getting some common questions, so we wanted to share this video with you to share our plans and the answers to those questions.

Pictures Are Worth A Thousand Pounds... Well Maybe Not But They Help!

1/20/2016

Life happens to all us, that includes us too. I spent the majority of the summer and into early fall doing a program called Body Beast and I loved it and saw great results. After I finished that program my fitness slowed down a bit and my eating wasn't super on point. I wanted to share these pics to point a couple things out and tell that story a little more.

#1 - Pictures tell a better story than the scale. Before reading any further, which pic do you think I weight the least in??? Got it! Feel free to comment below with what you thought. The answer the middle one! Although I'm more lean in #1 and #3 I dropped to my all time low weight after completing Body Beast and before starting Hammer and Chisel. I had stopped working out consistently and my eating was just... meh.

I weigh 8 lbs more in the first pic than the middle one. Yeah I lost 8 lbs by not working out as much. That's not a justification to not work out, just so you know. I lost muscle mass and I gained fat. Not a good combo. The last pic I'm up 2 lbs since starting Hammer and Chisel. The cool thing is I can just feel my body changing. Clothes fit better, my shoulders feel broader and pulled back, I just feel strong!

#2 - A backslide or a plateau doesn't mean the end of the world. Think about what helped you with your initial progress and go back to that. For me that meant following a program strictly. I just do better when I have a calendar to follow. If I don't, it leaves too much up to chance. For you it might mean being held accountable or meal planning, whatever it is, return to the process and trust it.

#3 - Muscle burns fat! I posted this pic in a giant accountability group I'm a part of and one guy was disappointed that he didn't have any abs showing yet from the workout. He even posted a pic of his current self and it showed him to be on the skinny side but a little bit on the "soft" side. Or some would call it skinny fat! If you want to burn through layers of fat, work on building the muscles underneath that fat first.

Star Wars and Network Marketing, What's the Connection?

12/21/2015

I just saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens earlier this afternoon. I'll start off by saying it is awesome and you should totally go see it. If you are worried I will spoil anything for you in this post don't worry, I won't dissect the storylines and characters. I'll leave that up to some other hardcore geeks out there.

I do want to share something regarding Star Wars and the publicity it has gotten this past weekend. The thought that I had was about how so many people were raving about this movie. I totally get why, there was hype behind it and it delivered. (Side note: totally worth seeing in 3D and on an IMAX screen, I'm still a bit in sensory overload but in a good way.) Even people with no connection to this movie or nothing to gain from promoting it, other than share an enjoyable experience with friends, were promoting it.

You might be able to see where I'm going with this. People promote things all the time! Movies to go see, restaurants to check out, airlines to take or avoid, or golf equipment to use (I used to be a golf pro). They promote because they want to help their friends and family out and recommend things they like.

Network Marketing works on the same premise but there is just a business structure that is built behind it. I'll use our situation as an example: we love the workouts that Beachbody has to offer and feel that they can help other people too. We also love Shakeology and use it every single day because it helps us. We didn't become Beachbody coaches because we saw a public need in the market. We did it because we loved the products and they work for us and will likely work for others. Just like me promoting Star Wars to people and telling my friends to go watch it, I promote Beachbody products because I see a benefit that my friends can get from it.

For some reason I feel there is a stigma that network marketers are in it to make money off of their friends. I'm sure some are, but I think a majority really do care and want to help. Here's the crazy thing though... Even if your friends were in it to make money, wouldn't you rather give your money to your friends versus some corporation that you have no connection to or ties to? I think the thing that rubs people the wrong way is when someone tries to promote products to people that have never expressed need or a desire for. Going back to the Star Wars theme, that would be like me telling a friend that I know despises science fiction that they need to go see this movie...that Star Wars will be the movie that changes them and their thoughts on science fiction. I can share how amazing the story line is and how awesome it is to see characters from the old movies in the new one. I'm not helping that friend, I'm just annoying the crap out of them.

So here's the takeaway... if you are in a network marketing company, don't be annoying and recommend cleaning supplies to a homeless guy or handbag to lumberjack. If you aren't involved in a network marketing company, understand that your friends really enjoy the products that they are promoting. They aren't doing it to make money off of you! Also if you aren't with a network marketing company I might encourage you to look at the products you are using on a regular basis, chances are there is a company out there that would allow you to use products at a very similar price. You could help a friend out, and even potentially make some money yourself!!

Invest in Your Own Gym Rather than Someone Else's

12/10/2015

One of the benefits that I never really thought of when I first got into this home fitness thing was accumulating workout equipment. As you can see in the picture above we've got a pretty good start on our home gym. We didn't have all of this equipment on Day 1 but over the years we've been doing this it's added up. We really have just about everything we need, minus maybe an adjustable bench, but we've passed on that just due to space issues.

I come from a fairly frugal family and it is ingrained in my DNA to justify costs of things we buy. For example, I was just chatting with some friends about the cost of the Vitamix we bought and value of it. They couldn't get over the $400ish price tag. I explained that the ease of use and cleanup will save you time each time you use it. Since we use it 2-3 times per day and have had it for at least 3 years now, that's a lot of time saved. We all know time is one of the most valuable assets we have so BAM... Justified!!!

With workout equipment and programs I also see the value in owning the stuff I'm using rather than paying a membership fee to use someone else's equipment. I can justify spending money on that equipment based on what we save by buying home workout programs versus paying gym dues. I'll explain just how much we are able to save below.

When Laura and I first got married we were members at Lifetime Fitness which is an extremely nice gym in the Minneapolis area. We were paying around $130 per month I believe for both of us. After a year or so we couldn't justify paying that much so we joined our city community center and I think we were paying around $60-70 for the two of us per month. We then tried a another local gym after moving which cost us about $70-80 per month. The point being we did the gym thing for a while and we never really used it to the point that we saw results and also couldn't justify the cost with the frequency that we went.

I'm a bit of a numbers guy so I just wanted to breakout the costs of what we were doing versus what we pay now. We usually buy 2-3 new workout programs every year and those programs cost anywhere from $30-90. We will just say yearly between the two of us we spend $175 on our workout programs or $14.50 per month for both of us. We also both have access to Beachbody On Demand which costs us roughly $13/month. All in, we spend about $41 per month or $492 per year. Compare that to the lower end gym memberships that we once had at $70 per month or $840 yearly. We are saving $348 per year for the two of us!!! That is compared to the lower cost gyms too. I looked up the cost of some others like OrangeTheory and CorePower Yoga and you are looking at $139+ per month for unlimited use of those facilities. (EDIT: As of January 1, 2017 we now only pay $99 each per year for our All-Access Beachbody On Demand membership. This gives us access to every Beachbody program ever created and all new programs that come out in 2017.)

I will be the first to admit that you shouldn't put a price on your health. The best workout that you can do is the one that you WILL do. So if you don't get excited about working out at home but you can get to the gym regularly great. I wanted to share this for those of you that maybe haven't thought about the numbers before. Who knows, maybe knowing the numbers will get you more excited to workout at once you know how much money you could be potentially saving.

What could you do with an extra $348? Buy more organic groceries! We always here how people struggle justifying the cost of organic food! Food is the real driver behind health so that would be a good use of those funds. You could also buy some workout equipment! All the workout equipment pictured above probably cost us a little over $400. In one years time, with the money you save by working out at home, you could have nearly all the equipment you need.

I didn't even mention the value of working out alongside some of the best trainers in the country. Nothing beats a personalized plan. The next best thing would be to follow a generic plan/program that someone who knows what they are talking about created. I was guilty of thinking I knew what I was doing when I was at the gym. I knew what lifts worked certain muscle groups but there was no big picture plan. The value of a working with a trainer is huge and if you are gym goer, I highly recommend you use them so you know what you are doing is helping you get closer to your goals.

Also with all of the programs that we have purchased you get a nutrition plan! That's usually extra at a gym if it is even available. Oh and if you are one to purchase a program through Laura or I you get me as your personal nutrition coach, which I normally charge a minimum of $200 per month for with private clients.

Doing the at home workout thing is a lot like buying versus leasing car. There are certainly some people in the situation where leasing a car or workout equipment is the right way to go. There value in owning your stuff though. That's why I've become a big fan of slowly growing our home gym. My dream is to have a mini crossfit style gym at some point. I know with the money I save it will happen over time, one piece of equipment at a time!

The Master's Hammer & Chisel Launch

12/3/2015

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!

The Voices in Your Head

11/18/2015

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

Admit that they are there. Sounds easy! But acknowledging that you have conflicting thoughts is great way to move forward. It's kind of like putting together that pros and cons list for the boyfriend/girlfriend that you seeing in college. Write down what you are thinking. Then write down the pros and cons for either staying put or making change.
If you truly know that change is the best course of action. This may not become apparent until you do #1 but often if you have hesitations about making change, that usually means you should. If this is the verdict, tip #2 is write an action plan. If I told you to drive from Minnesota to Texas, you could do it pretty easily and probably wouldn't need a plan, head south. But if I told you drive to Frank's Diner is Austin, Texas, and to meet with Matthew McConaughey, now you need a specific plan. Where is the diner? What time? What will I wear? You know all that important stuff. With your plan the more specific you can be the better. List out all the steps you need to take.
Lastly, share those thoughts and plan with someone. This might be a little uncomfortable but putting it out there in the open or at least with one other person will significantly increase the chances of making lasting change. Plus you will find out that you aren't that weird for having the thoughts that you are.

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.

Get to Know "The Coach" aka Laura

10/28/2015

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.

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