The Cook & The Coach Blog

Our Routine... A Day in the Life!

9/5/2017

We try our best to share our life with you guys....and I know social media makes it seem like it's all glamour, beaches, fun stuff all the time and no work It's not. I promise.

BUT there's a big difference between what our days looked like last year compared to now.

Now...we choose what our days look like. As coaches, as business partners and life changers with Beachbody...we STILL wake up with an alarm around 6 or 6:30, because we WANT TO...with goals of getting up even earlier.

We drink 20 oz of water...make COFFEE ️...then drink coffee!
Pull out our stack of books and devotionals to read. I journal a little and then post to our social media sharing inspiration and things we learned...so it can encourage others
Eli wakes up...we snuggle a little and then he plays with some toys and eats his breakfast
We plan our day...set our priorities....decide what needs to get done. We check in with our private support group and encourage them or share a tip
Dan makes us breakfast
One of us takes Eli to the park or the library or run some errands and the other gets some heads down, ALONE work time.
I do some mentoring calls with coaches or work on trainings for our team or build our business by building relationships and connecting with people!
We post to social media again
We work out...the time changes every day but it always happens if it's in the calendar
We drink Shakeology
We ROCK our day and simply strive to SERVE those around us

Some days we work a lot...some days we don't....sometimes we work on the weekend...and we stop when we'd like!! Sometimes we work at the beach or a coffeeshop or at home in the RV...the location doesn't matter.

Total control.

Messy hair.

Yoga pants...no showers...no pants...no shoes...no problem. HA!! Every day is a new day to make a choice. To set some new goals. To grow.

It's a NEW day to connect with people that want to join a movement...and want to spread the message of health and life to their friends and family!! If you want more CONTROL of your life...more flexibility or more control of your health and you love to serve people and help them, we'd love to chat with YOU!! ️

Is Obesity Contagious?

6/13/2017

I've been smacked in the face with this concept a few times in the past month so I took it as a sign that I needed to write and share my thoughts.

Is Obesity Contagious?

(C) Tobyotter

We think of a lot of diseases to be contagious, the flu, a cold, but what about obesity? The American Medical Association back in 2013 actually changed it's stance on obesity and it is now classified as a disease. If you go to the CDC website it actually states that 36.5% of Americans "have" obesity. That word "have" struck me when I read it.

Philosophically that is a whole new ball game. Now a person isn't defined by being obese, they "aren't" obese they just "have" it. If you have something you can get rid of it, right??? That's good news! If you have it, does that also mean that you can give it to someone?

In 2007 researchers from Harvard published an article in The New England Journal for Medicine, The spread of obesity in a large social network over 32 years, that explains these concepts. Some things that stood out were, if you have a friend that is obese that you would be 57% more likely to obese yourself. The study didn't show that obesity was connected to geographical location. For example if you have a neighbor or coworker that is obese they won't rub off on you as much as someone which you actually have a close relationship.

"Obesity is a social disease. And it needs a social cure." - Dr. Mark Hyman

I love this line from Mark Hyman, "Obesity is a social disease and it needs a social cure." Unfortunately the population of the United States is heading in the wrong direction.

As of 2015 70.7% of Americans over the age of 20 are considered overweight or obese. If 71% of the population had a virus that was slowly killing you every government agency and medical professional would be hysterical in finding a cure. What gives? Why are people complacent about the disease of obesity?

I think it comes back to this being a social disease. If you walk down the street or through your office building and 7 in 10 people you walk past are overweight, doesn't that skew your perception of what is normal? Now instead of comparing yourself to the cover model on the magazine, I think people are comparing themselves to the people that are overweight or obese. The thought likely goes through their head either consciously or subconsciously, "Well at least I'm not as fat as that person, so I must not be that bad."

Then you have the people that use the genetic excuse as a crutch. The same study mentioned above found out that if a sibling became obese it raised your chances of becoming obese by 40%. So if your friend, that you have no similar genetic information as becomes obese it increases your chances by 57% but a family member only 40%. Wouldn't that suggest that obesity is more of a nurture disease rather than a nature disease?

Why does this matter?

Being overweight and obese can have serious health consequences. It can lead to things like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, gallstones, cancer and increased joint pain. Not all overweight people will develop these diseases or will report negative biomarkers but it does raise your risk.

There is also a direct correlation to how overweight a person is and their activity level. So once you get trapped in the cycle of being overweight it becomes more and more difficult to lose weight. Your activity goes down, you burn fewer calories, you pack on more weight.

What do we do?

First thing I think we need to start treating being overweight or obese as a disease that needs treatment. It can't just be the way a person is... It can't be something we ignore thinking it is just a benign condition without consequences.

What actions do we need to take?

I believe as individuals we need to support people where they are at! Whether they are fit and lean or morbidly obese, we need to be there for a friends, family, and neighbors. We need to be encouragers! We can't wait for someone else to take action, you need to be the one! The one that gets moving! The one that cuts out a lot of the junk food! The one that eats more veggies! Do it with joy! Be contagious with your healthy behaviors!

That's why I love so much what we do! We get to be those influencers! More importantly we try to encourage others to pay it forward, to pass along what they learn and share with the people they care about.

We need to be interjectors of positivity and health into the cycle that people get stuck in. If you feel like you are stuck, find people that are going to lift you up and believe in you. Find someone that won't let you fail, aka stop!

Lastly, as a society we have become overweight and obese! It will only be as a society that we can solve this problem. We need to reset that trajectory that our country's health is on currently. Health can and needs to become more contagious than obesity! If you are ready to help be part of the change, share this post, reach out to a friend in need, or reach out to a friend that can help you!

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

12/5/2016

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.

Coach Summit 2016

11/3/2016

The past 4 years for me (Laura) and 3 years for Dan we have attended what Beachbody calls Coach Summit. This event is a gathering of thousands of coaches where we get to come together and learn, grow and even sweat together. Yeah sounds a little weird but we've worked out simultaneously with over 23,000 other coaches....which is pretty dang AWESOME. We've also been fortunate to listen to speeches from John Maxwell, Darren Hardy, Simon Sinek and this year Gary Vaynerchuk.

My first year, I flew to Vegas by myself, stayed with my cousin and a random person we didn't even know. I had no idea what I was getting myself into...but loved every minute of the energy packed, brain exhausting, exciting weekend!! My second year, Dan was able to come along!! He had been able to leave his job as a golf professional and it was his first summer off in 10 years. Words can't express how incredible it was to have him there! I was 26 weeks pregnant with Eli, moved a little slower than normal and needed a little more sleep...but it was still an amazing weekend and we had 1 other coach from our team there. My third year the conference was moved to Nashville and we had 2 coaches from our team there....and THIS YEAR...we were in Nashville once again but we had 8 coaches from our team there!!! We all stayed in an Airbnb together and even though most of us had never met in real life before...it was like we knew each other!!

Take a peek at the slideshow to see what a blast we had over the 3 day conference!!

One of the main reasons I ADORE this business is because of it's focus on relationships. The people that have decided to take a leap with us and join our team, have changed my life!! They impact me DAILY even though we only interact via social media, video chat or phone calls...so to be able to spend 4 entire days with them is the BEST!! I can't even describe it.

I'm already looking forward to next year and cannot WAIT to have an even bigger group there representing Team FullyFit!!

Core De Force Launch Details

11/1/2016

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.

Focus On What You Can Control

10/12/2016

We've worked with hundreds of people in an effort to improve their health and lose weight. I think most people strive to be healthy and live life at a reasonable weight. I will say though a lot of people put an emphasis on weight. They think that is the driving force to better health.

When I lost most of my weight I was doing a program called The Ultimate Reset. This program is a 21 day whole food cleanse/reset. The great thing about this and getting started was it laid everything out for me. I didn't have to think. The process was laid out in black and white. Eat this, take these supplements and you'll see results. I wasn't thinking about whether or not I was losing weight, I just knew what my next meal or snack was supposed to be. For more on my journey check out this post, Change Your Mind, Change Your Body.

We have made the comments before that it is more about progress and not perfection. I would take that one step further back and say that it is more about committing to the process first. You control the process! You don't necessarily control the progress. I think that is why I saw results with the program I did. I committed to actions and those actions led to weight loss and health.

If you you are looking to lose weight and get healthy, what process are you going to commit too? Some things that I believe are vital both losing weight and getting healthy would be:

Consuming a minimum of 5 servings of non-starchy veggies per day
Drinking 1/2 your body weight in ounces of water
Getting a minimum of 6 hours of quality sleep per night, preferably 7-8.
Doing some sort of activity that causes you to fatigue muscles and lose your breath 4 times per week for at least 20 minutes. Basically do some intense exercise!

If you are a beginner and you want to know how to lose weight, do those things! Once you've mastered those things, then you we can talk fancier things like calorie counting, marconutrient ratios, carb-cycling, fasting, etc. I think so many people think they need to do something fancy to see results. The things you need to do are easy! Because they are easy to do, they are also easy not to do! That's where you committing to the process makes all the difference.

We've put together a simple tracker that you can use to track your progress with these simple steps. Just click the button below and follow the directions.

Download Our Core Activities Tracker

Road Trip with Nana

9/17/2016

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.

Make A Life That Means Something

9/7/2016

✔️ What does success look like to you right now?
✔ What numbers are you trying increase?
✔️ Why are you trying to increase them?
✔️ How is all of this making you FEEL?

God designed good work coupled with good rest. But we take it to extremes....being busy stems from the fear of never being enough. Busy covers our emptiness and says I am in control.

If we stay busy, how can our lives feel meaningless, RIGHT?

Don't edge out INTENTIONAL LIVING with your striving and "busy". Life is too short to spend an entire season working hard, thinking you'll live later!! God wants us to live NOW.

(Honesty moment: I'm a work in progress and struggle with this as much as the next person!!)

Do You, Don't Let The World Miss Out

8/17/2016

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.

Beachbody Health Bet

8/5/2016

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!

About Us

Dan and Laura Suedbeck have embraced an entrepreneurial lifestyle. They are constantly challenging the status quo and challenge others to do so too. They believe that you don't always have to change your situation, sometimes you just need to change the lens you view the world through. Their focus is helping people find purpose and passion with their lives all while getting healthy. Click here to find out more about them.

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