Life After I "Dew"

Being associated with an MLM comes with it's challenges.  People think you are just trying to shove products down their throat.  They don't think you are genuine. They think you are just out to make a buck.  Trust me I know.  I know because I've heard it many times but also because I've thought it myself.

Before becoming a Beachbody coach I would see other people doing the MLM thing and while it never bothered me I always thought, "that's not for me".  I didn't think I could ever do it.  I didn't like the idea of having home parties.  I didn't want to carry inventory.  I couldn't afford some of the start up costs.  I didn't want to just sell stuff.

When my coach approached me nearly 3 years ago I read her email and deleted it without responding. I didn't have any interest in being a part of an MLM and I definitely didn't think I was someone who should be giving health & fitness advice considering I had about 40 {or so} pounds to lose myself.  But when she followed up with me a few weeks later I was in a better place, mentally and physically, and thought I'd give it a shot.  I didn't really have high expectations because I really wasn't interested in "working the biz".  I just wanted to try T25 and she offered to let me borrow it so I said, "yes" and took a chance on something I never thought I'd do.

That was almost 3 years ago and in that time I have tried numerous workout programs {T25, PIYO, 21 Day Fix EXTREME, 22 Minute Hard Corp, 3 Week Yoga Retreat and, now, Core De Force}.  I've reaped the benefits of Shakeology.  I've completed 3 {or 4, I can't remember} rounds of the 3 Day Refresh.  I've lost 70 +/- lbs and kept it off for over 2 years and it all started because I saw the infomercial for T25 and wanted to try it.

I've shared my journey the entire way, the good, the bad and the ugly.  You guys have seen me complete these workouts, watched me lose weight while drinking Shakeology and some of you have decided to join me on this ride.  I am so thankful for each step of the way because today, as a mom to two kids in her mid-thirties, I feel the best I've felt my entire life.  I truly owe it to becoming a Beachbody coach.

After I lost my baby weight from Kendall I felt great and hit {my then} lowest weight as an adult.  In a years time, however, 20ish lbs of that had started to creep back.  I kinda hit my goal weight and thought, "I'm here!  I'm done!" and more or less quit working.  After James was born I didn't want the same thing to happen.  I wanted to hit my goal but then I didn't want to stop striving to be better.  Thanks to my amazing team, the community that is Beachbody and the accountability of our challenge groups I have been able to stick to that goal.  Not only have I stuck to my own goal but I've been able to inspire others to reach their goals in the process.  It is truly the most incredible feeling.

But I like to think of myself as the "un-coach".  I am not going to spam you.  I'm not going to sell you on Shakeology.  I'm not going to beg you to join my team.  I'm not going to tell you all of the programs are great.  My approach is a lot different than most and perhaps that hurts my business but I can't and won't run it any other way.  In order to be successful {my own definition of success is probably different than most} is to be true to myself.

So when you see me talking about a Shakeology recipe or how it makes me feel it's because I truly enjoy it and I really do feel the benefits when I am drinking it on a consistent basis.  When I tell you I love a program it's because I actually look forward to doing it every day.  You may remember my 21 Day Fix EXTREME "review" from last year, it wasn't positive.  A lot of people have seen amazing results from this program and LOVE it but I didn't, it wasn't for me.  The same is true of Country Heat.  When they announced a country line-dancing workout I literally thought it was an SNL parody, this couldn't be real.  Do people really want this?  And that's why you never saw me promoting it.  So when I am promoting a workout it's because I really believe in it.

If you express an interest in any of our products, I am more than happy to share more information with you.  I get excited helping someone find their soul-mate workout.  If you are curious about the coaching opportunity and what it entails, I would love to get you added to one of my Intro to Coaching groups so you can make the decision for yourself once you have all the information.  But I will never try to sell you on anything because that is not my style.

I guess the point I'm trying to make is we are not all bad, us MLM-ers.  We aren't all out to make a buck and sell you some crap we don't think you need.  Some of us are truly in it for the community.  We enjoy what we do, we want to help others and we want to better ourselves in the process.  I think that's what sets Beachbody apart from some of the others out there though.  We aren't just selling a tangible product and sending you on your way.  We provide the support, motivation and accountability to make sure that you hit your goals. This isn't just another diet or workout that you spend the money on, have good intentions of sticking too and then fall off the wagon in a month.  As a coach it is my job to help you every step of the way and when I say I want you to succeed, I mean it.  That's what this is all about, to me.  Sure, the extra money is nice, I won't lie and say it isn't.  The extra money has paid for my electric bills some months, our mortgage others and sometimes just provides a little fun money that we otherwise wouldn't have.

So yes I am a Beachbody coach.  I am proud of what I do.  I am honored to be the one people turn to when they are ready to make a change.  I love running my challenge groups and getting to surround myself with like-minded people.  This is truly the best job I never knew I wanted.

Often times I get asked what my favorite recipe for Shakeology is and the answer is, I have many!  If I had to pick my number one it would absolutely be the Reese Cup but all of these are delicious if you're looking to yummify your superfoods.  I also have a different favorite depending on the season we're in {strawberry cheesecake for summer, pumpkin spice for fall and candy cane for winter}.  So without further ado, here are a few of my favorites.

























A little info about Shakeology! First of all, it's all natural. It's made up of over 70 fruits and veggies and gives you your daily recommended dose in ONE packet! Pretty amazing right? The drying process of the fruits and veggies BB uses is one of the best in preserving all of the nutrients! 

There are a variety of flavors to choose from: Strawberry, Chocolate, Vanilla and Greenberry as well as vegan options. Shakeo can be used as a nutrition supplement or as a weight loss supplement (meal replacement). I typically replace lunch because it's just easiest for me!  For a months worth of Shakeo it is $129 which breaks down to $4 and change per packet which isn't bad at all {I told myself when I started that's cheaper than my Starbucks - and it's healthy - and it's my breakfast!}

As always, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to send me a message and I'd be happy to assist you in picking the perfect flavor!

Last week I wrapped up my first round of 22 Minute Hard Corps and lived to tell about it.

I was hesitant to start this program.  I knew it was a military inspired workout {think bootcamp} and that really did not appeal to me.  I had just finished up T25 though and knew I wanted to keep the momentum going with a challenging new workout. I posted to my social media accounts and let my followers vote for my next program, 22 Minute Hard Corps won by a landslide.

So what is 22 Minute Hard Corps?  As I said, it's a military bootcamp inspired workout.  It gets your heart rate up from the time it starts and it will have you dripping {literally} in sweat every day.  The workout is an eight week long program.  You workout six days a week for 22 minutes a day.  You alternate between cardio and resistance every day so you're never doing the same workout two days in a row.  There are optional core workouts that you can pair with your cardio days {some days I did it, some I didn't}.  In total this program comes with eight different workouts that you rotate through for the eight weeks.  Then week nine, Hell Week, is an optional challenge.  It's a week where you do two and three workouts per day for all seven days.

I did T25 immediately before starting this program and I thought that was a great program to lead into something like 22 Minute Hard Corps.  The main differences between the two is that T25 is mostly cardio and 22 Minute Hard Corps is more strength.  T25 was good for building my endurance so I didn't feel like I was going to totally die but 22 Minute Hard Corp definitely helped build more muscle.

I would not, however, call 22 Minute Hard Corp a beginner workout.  It's tough and even during Hell Week {nine weeks in} I was huffing and puffing my way through the workouts.  It will challenge every muscle in your body.  You will be sore each day {I'm weird and like being sore though}. BUT you will notice results {not just physical ones} almost immediately.  I loved being able to track my progress by how I felt doing each of the workouts.  Each week the moves got easier and I was able to do them faster/more reps and that was a really cool feeling.

At the end of this program I felt like a total bad ass.  I felt like I wanted to sign up for one of those Spartan races or something.  It pushed my body in ways that I had not done with any other program and that left me feeling like I could do anything.  My muscles were {kind of} popping up.  My booty was higher and tighter {holla!}.  I lost an inch off of my thighs {woop!!}.  I gained an inch on my arms {Obama can't ban these guns}.  Most importantly I felt really confident about my body when this program was over.
 

Last week I finished my second round of Focus T25 and I feel great.  It's been exactly two years since I did the program entirely and man did it feel good to sweat and be sore again.  I missed it, truly.

Through the winter I literally get SADD.  I haven't been diagnosed or anything {WebMD to the rescue} but I know my mood changes from about Nov-Feb.  I have little energy, I don't want to go outside, I want to just go to bed and wake up when it's warm.  It affects all areas of my life and I hate that {one day we will live in a warmer state}.

This winter I literally wanted nothing to do with working out.  I didn't want to break a sweat.  I didn't feel like exerting myself physically.  I definitely had no interest in cardio activity.  That was when I turned to yoga.  I need some sort of physical activity in my life or my waistline would pay for it and yoga was right up my alley.  It was just what I needed at the time and I am so thankful I spent two solid months practicing.  I learned a lot about myself during that time.  It was a beautiful thing but once March rolled around I knew I needed more.

I started seeing my T25 pics showing up in Timehop from two years ago.  I started to feel motivated by myself- which is so crazy.  I get emails and comments all the time from people who say that my journey has inspired them but never, not once, have I ever felt inspired by myself.  Seeing all that I accomplished back then, the changes I made, the way my body responded, the motivation I had, it all lit a fire in me that I hadn't had for months.  And so I started T25 again.


I wasn't thrilled with these before pictures. I was mad at what I had let happen over a couple months after finishing my yoga practice. I just started eating whatever, not really tracking when I know how important it is {to me} to track my food.  So the belly fat, the back fat, the cellulite, it was all bad, bad, bad.  But I was hopeful T25 would "fix" all of that.

I didn't talk about it much on here but if you follow me on IG you know this whole house {minus James} has been battling some sort of sickness since the beginning of February. It's been a fun month, let me tell you.

It started with me getting some gross puking bug {that I thought was the Chipotle flu} and five days later Jimmy was lucky enough to catch it.  Somehow our kids managed to avoid it which is a miracle seeing as everyone we are close to had it at some point that month.  Following the stomach bug, a little over a week later I was diagnosed with strep for the first time in 33 years.  I was prescribed penicillin even after I told the doctor that I don't usually respond to it. Nine days into the prescription I called them back to let them know that all of my symptoms had returned and I was feeling the exact same.  At that time they informed me that my strep test was negative...hmm...okay...so I don't know what I had/have {my ears are still plugged} but I do know that about two weeks later Kendall did test positive for strep.

Whew...

So we have all passed germs around and somehow James has been the only one to avoid it which blows my mind.  But now, it seems, we are all on the mend.  Everyone has finished their prescriptions and all is "normal" again.  FINALLY.

The thing that sucks the most is my diet.  Up until I got sick I had been counting macros and loving it.  I was eating more food than ever before {1700 calories vs 1200} and I felt great.  The scale got to a number I have never seen as an adult and while that wasn't the goal it was nice to see, I can't lie.  I was cooking a lot more, eating healthier than ever and I was loving it.

Once I got sick all I wanted was carbs.  Gimme all the toast, bagels, noodle soups, french fries, and ice cream.  Seriously I think I logged into MFP one day and my macros were like 95% carbs.  It was insane.  I chalked it up to being sick and if my body was craving those things then that was what it needed to "heal".  How do you like that logic?

Needless to say I gained almost 10lbs in a month thanks to that nonsense.  Insane, right?  It's not just the scale that's driving me nuts but I feel like crap too.  Sluggish, no energy, tired easily, clothes are fitting weird, the whole thing is just bad.  I'm mad that things got so out of control but what can you do?  You hop back on the wagon and don't give up.

Last week was when I really noticed things were "bad" and I decided to get back to a more paleo style diet.  I say paleo style because I am not committing to 100% paleo again.  I love counting the macros because I don't feel deprived of anything yet still feel in control too.  If that makes any sense.  BUT since I'd been living on a carb-filled diet for the month I decided I should probably try to cut those for a minute.  So that's what I've been doing, combined with counting my macros and it's been great.  I've been eating lots of yummy, healthy, pretty foods again.  I got my cooking mojo back, woo!  And I'm starting to feel better too, double woo!

Also, since November I've just been feeling "blah" in the workout department.  Call it the winter blues, call it SADD, call it what you will but doing anything worthy of breaking a sweat or leaving me sore for days did not sound appealing.  I wanted something "easy", something I could do in the mornings, something that wouldn't make me drip with sweat but something that would still feel like I was doing something.  That's when I discovered and fell in love with Yoga With Adriene.  From November-February I strictly practiced yoga as my workout. I completed two 30 day challenges and found a love for my body that I wish I'd had all along.  It was a great physical change but it was an even greater mental one.  I truly appreciate and love yoga in a whole new way now.

I also came out of it feeling reenergized.  Like I was ready to sweat again and it was time for something more challenging.  Then my T25 journey {the beginning} started showing up on my Timehop since it's been two years since I started it the first time. I started to feel re-inspired to start the program that changed everything for me all over again.  So I'm officially ending week two of T25 alpha today and it feels amazing.

It's completely different this time around though.  I remember the first time I did the entire program I felt like I had to keep up with Shaun T.  I didn't want to modify anything and sometimes that was a great big disadvantage to me because I would fizzle out and just stop or I'd take more breaks because I couldn't keep up.  This time I'm letting myself modify where I need to and I'm OK with it because it allows me to keep going. I was also pleasantly surprised that I hadn't lost all of my stamina over the past couple of months.  T25 is very different from yoga and I thought that I was going to be on the floor about to pass out at the first day of cardio but surprisingly I made it though and didn't feel like I was going to die!

I think coupling T25 with the macros is going to leave me with an amazing transformation.  I'm super excited about it.  I never take measurements because I'm too lazy but I did this time!  I took measurements, weight, and before pics so that I have a FULL testimony this time.  I can't wait.  Two weeks down, eight to go.


Stay tuned.

You guys I have such a yummy treat to share with you today!

As you {may} know I have a major sweet tooth.  Cookies, especially chocolate chip, are my main weakness.  Some people crave salt, some people choose something a little more savory, I choose cookies.  Unlucky Lucky for me Kendall loves baking so we make chocolate chip cookies about once  a week.  The problem here is she only likes to make cookies for the dough {no judging} and that leaves me and James {Jimmy hates most sweets} to eat an entire batch of cookies.  Since I'd rather not have an already hyper toddler hopped up on sugar, I take one for the team and eat them all.  Yep, all of them.  In a matter of days too.  It's not pretty.

Anyway...

I needed to find a healthy alternative to all these cookies I was consuming.  So that I'm not the only one eating them {even though they're healthy doesn't mean you can eat the whole batch}, I wanted something I knew my kids would like too.  So, without further ado...

Shakeology No-Bake Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup all-natural peanut butter (or almond butter)
1 cup quick cooking oats
½ cup raw honey
1 cup Chocolate Shakeology

I debated whether or not to share this post but here goes nothing...

I've put it out into the universe that I've been "doing" 21 Day Fix Extreme.  I sort of did a combination of 21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme though- the regular 21 Day Fix meal plan and the 21 Day Fix Extreme workouts.  The 21 days are over and it's time to share my results and my thoughts.

I thought about just pretending like it didn't happen.  Like hopefully you would all forget that I even mentioned it and I wouldn't mention it anymore.  And then I'd start my next program and you'd all be like, "Wait, what?  Wasn't she doing 21 Day Fix?".

I thought about saying how great and amazing my results were and how simple to follow the meal plan was.  But then I have no before/afters to share so that wasn't an option either.

But if I posted either of those I would be lying.

The truth is, I didn't like 21 Day Fix.  There, I said it.

I've had 21 Day Fix Extreme since it was released in February.  I was so excited when it came in the mail.  Everyone seemed to LOVE the regular program and had amazing results so I knew Extreme was going to deliver. When it first came I browsed the meal plan, attempted all of the workouts at least once, and that was the extent of it.  I put it on the shelf and didn't think much more about it until about a month ago when I decided, on a Sunday, that I was going to start the following Monday.

So I kind of set myself up for failure by failing to plan but regardless I found the entire meal plan to be confusing from the get-go so I'm not sure that planning would have made that much of a difference.  Without the help of Pinterest and the giant 21 Day Fix challenge group on FB there was no way I was going to successfully follow that meal plan no matter how much I prepared for it.

That was my biggest problem with the program, the meal plan.  I know everyone finds it super easy to follow, that it allows for a lot of food, and so on and so forth.  I actually thought the opposite of all of that was true.  I didn't find it easy to follow, at all.  I suppose if you were to eat eggs for breakfast, Shakeology for snack, salad for lunch, strawberries for your second snack and grilled chicken with veggies for dinner, you'd be OK.  That would be easy to follow, would fill all of your containers and you would be successful.  But I am a mom to two small kids who are picky eaters.  I have a husband who likes diversity in his meals and I like to eat tacos. So when it comes to eating things with multiple ingredients, that aren't in the cookbook, I failed.  Like where the heck does something like Shepherd's pie fit in? I know, you're probably not supposed to eat Shepherd's pie on 21 Day Fix and that is the whole point behind the 21 Day Fix, but damn it, I like Shepherd's pie on a cold autumn day!  So, it goes without saying, I fell off the wagon hard when it came to the meal plan.

I do like that it keeps your portions in check.  I struggle with eating as much as Jimmy at times so that part I can appreciate.  Also, carbs.  Wow.  I eat more carbs than humanly necessary so thank you, 21 Day Fix, for pointing that out.

As for the workouts, they are legit.  I really had a love/hate relationship with the Extreme workouts.  I loved pilates fix extreme, yoga fix extreme and upper fix extreme, I really loved those three specifically.  The others, however, were the ones that made me most sore {I'm looking at you plyo fix extreme}.  I was actually sore nearly every day for the full 21 days.  I'm weird and I like to be sore, it let's me know that what I'm doing is working, so I didn't mind that part.  However, I do find Autumn to be a tad bit annoying.  She sort of reminds me of Jillian Michaels but not in a good way.  I think she takes A LOT of breaks for only a 30 minute workout.  Listen, clearly it works for her because her body is banging, but Shaun T doesn't even give this many breaks in Insanity Max 30 and that ish is intense.

I know it goes against my business to say this and I know I'll probably hurt my business by posting this but I pride myself on being honest and I felt this was the right thing to do.  I wanted to like it, I really did.  I've seen so many amazing transformations thanks to this program.  Everyone who I've talked to that has done it LOVED it and completed multiple rounds of it.  I felt like I was in the minority with my opinion but after posting on FB and IG Sunday night I realized I am not alone and a lot of you agree with the way I feel about it.

I wish I liked it.  I wish I had an amazing transformation to share with you.  But I didn't and I don't.  I will say that if you struggle with eating the right foods, if you have portion control issues and are looking for a place to start, this program would be a good fit.  It teaches you clean eating, portions and has effective workouts to go along with it.  I would also recommend buying the Fixate cookbook so that you have more options if you are someone who likes to have it all laid out for you {like I clearly do}.

So, there you have it.  My real thoughts on the 21 Day Fix Extreme.  Who knows, I might give it a try again some other time but for now I'll stick to logging into MFP {for the most part} and continuing with my workouts.  Plus I really missed PIYO over these last 21 days and my hips will be glad to get back to it.

Have you tried 21 Day Fix/Extreme? Do/Did you like it?  Any tips?  Am I crazy for posting this?

As I mentioned a couple times, I'm doing 21 Day Fix EXTREME right now and so far, so good {I think}.  I'm not weighing myself or taking measurements till the end so that's why I say "I guess".  It's not been easy and I have slipped up a couple of times, I'm human.  I will say that it has been an eye-opening experience and I have realized that 1. I eat too many carbs and 2. I don't eat enough veggies.  I kind of already knew all of those things but this sort of put it on display and made me really check myself.  

One recipe that I have made and LOVED has been this 21 Day Fix EXTREME turkey chili.  Now, not to toot my own horn or anything, I make a pretty BA chili.  I don't have a real recipe, per se, but it always tastes the same and it's always a crowd pleaser.  Anyway....with that being said, I was skeptical of trying something new.  Jimmy is not a big fan of turkey, in fact he refuses to eat turkey bacon altogether, so I was nervous when I told him I was making a turkey chili. But, to my surprise, he loved this just as much as I did!  Wife win!

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1.5 pounds raw 93% lean ground turkey
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (I used orange pepper b/c I had it on hand)
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt or Himalayan salt
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (to taste; optional)
• 1 (15-0z) can black beans, drained, rinsed
• 1 (15-oz) can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
• 1 (15-0z) can all-natural diced tomatoes, no sugar added
• 12 fresh cilantro sprigs, finely chopped (for garnish, optional)

You know that saying, "summer bodies are made in the winter"?  Well for me that is 110% true.

You guys, I fell off the wagon this summer.  My workouts have been consistent and I usually get in 5-6 days but my food is where I lack control.  I blame summer. Summer foods are just so damn good.  Everyone is having a cookout.  There are 5 million fairs in town. It's hot and all I want is an ice cold beer.  I mean my excuses are endless.

But they're just that,  excuses.

From my lowest weight I am up about 10lbs which is really no big deal except I feel like crap. I am sluggish, getting headaches all the time, I'm not sleeping well and I don't feel good in my clothes.  I have said it before and I'll say it again, I really don't care what the scale says but when I start to FEEL the effects of poor diet choices, that's when I know it's time to make a change.


The thing is, I don't hate the way my body LOOKS now.  I have a little bit more fat, yes, but I still don't think I'm fat.  My arms aren't as slender and my belly not as toned but I don't even mind all of that.  I still love my body and honestly I feel more comfortable in my bathing suit on the right than I remember feeling in the one on the left. Funny how that works, huh?  Even if the number on the scale stayed the same I would be OK with that.

Kind of a reverse transformation Tuesday, I guess.

It's the feeling that I care about and I don't FEEL as good as I did then.  I was doing a pretty good job with a mostly paleo diet and that made me feel really good.  I had just finished my first FULL round of PIYO and that had me feeling more defined than ever before.  I remember I was sleeping really good then too, something that I could definitely use again.

So now that summer's coming to an end {thank you Labor Day weekend for one last hurrah!} I'm ready to get back into it, hard core.  I've meal planned, I've prepped the food, I've got my PIYO schedule all laid out for the week and I'm ready to kick ass and take names.

Anyone else let the summer completely sabotage their diet?  Who is ready to get back on track with me?  I also have a challenge group I'm running on Facebook to help keep myself accountable and motivated if you want to join me comment below and I'll get you added TODAY!

A little over a year ago I began my journey with Beachbody.  I had no idea what to expect, I didn't know a whole lot about the business, I wasn't planning on growing a team.  I just wanted to try T25.  I wasn't in it for the money.  In fact my first paycheck was like $32.  That didn't even cover the cost of my Shakeology every month.  

Growing up I was never a fit kid.  I never played sports, never exercised.  My eating was just what any kids was.  I ate whatever I wanted.  I was never fat but I was never thin either.  I rode right in the middle and I was always happy with that.

I've wanted to write this post for a while but, well, there's that thing called time and I can never get enough of it.  I often get asked a lot of questions regarding my weight loss journey.  What do I eat?  How often do I workout?  How do I find the time?  Do I meal plan?  And much more.  I try to answer everyone but in case I missed anyone I wanted to make a little cheat sheet of my favorite tools I used while losing weight.  This isn't anything that you probably haven't heard before and for some of you I'm sure I'm going to sound like a broken record but I love letting people in on what worked for me in hopes of helping them in their journey.


This is what worked for me. This is what I used to shed my baby weight once I had reached a standstill after about 5-6 months of no weight loss.  I know that everyone will not agree with everything I have to say, and that's OK!  I get a lot of questions about what I do/what I did to lose 70ish pounds and this is what I did/used.

Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor.  For, well, ever I have seen girls using these to track their heart rate/calories burned during their workouts.  I always thought they looked awesome and dreamed about how much that would help my weight loss journey but I never bit the bullet and bought one.  For Valentine's day, this year, Jimmy got me one {per my request, ahem} and I only wish I had had one sooner.  Until I had this I had been logging my exercise into MyFitnessPal and it was just an estimate.  It had obviously worked for me, in the past, and continues to work for a lot of people but I wanted a more accurate reading.  I also think that the Polar forced me to push myself a bit harder during my workouts.  I would see that calories burned screen and I'd think, "Oh come on {self}!!  You can do better than that!!!"  and so I work harder and burn more calories.  I've heard a lot of people say the same thing is true for them.  Now that I'm more into maintaining, toning, firming up, I don't wear it too much because I don't necessarily care about how many calories I burn.

MyFitnessPal.  After I had Kendall I was trying to lose weight and it was right after The New Year.  The Today Show was talking about the best apps of the year and MFP was one of them.  I had never counted calories a day in my life but this made it look simple and painless.  I downloaded it and never looked back!  It's so user friendly.  I rarely found something that was NOT in their database and it was usually something that was from a local restaurant.  Lots of Pinterest recipes are even in there!  MFP gives you back the calories that you burn during exercise as extra to eat so it takes a lot of the guesswork out of it. I kept my calorie goal around 1200-1350 when I was in losing mode but it will vary for each individual.

T25.  I cannot and will not say enough good things about this program.  It is the first at-home program that I've ever been able to stick with.  I've tried Jillian's 30 Day Shred, 6 Week 6 Pack, Bethenny's Skinnygirl Yoga, Core Secrets, Biggest Loser Yoga, and the list goes on.  I've never stuck with any of them.  I think the reason I was able to stick with T25 is because it comes with a calendar which shows you what you have to do each day.  So each day I'd see that and think, "Well I have to do Total Body Circuit today" like there was no way around it.  I also think the biggest selling point is that every day you do a different workout.  Your brain never gets bored because you don't do the same workout every day and your body never gets used to doing the same thing every day.  Starting T25 is what jump-started my fitness and really got my body to change.  I will forever stand behind this program.

Shakeology.  I have to admit, when I first started coaching and saw the price tag that came with Shakeology I was completely turned off.  It's true.  But at the end of each workout there is a "commercial" promoting it and every time I was like in a trance, "must try Shakeology" and the same is true of Jimmy. So we tried it and we were in love from day one.  My husband normally eats like he's never going to eat again on a typical work day.  The amount of food I pack for his lunch is out of control.  His first day drinking Shakeology he text me at noon and said he hadn't been hungry at his 9 o'clock break and was just eating for the first time since 6:15 when he had his Shakeolgoy.  That was HUGE for him.  For me I love that it curbed my sweet tooth.  I am the girl who has never uttered the words, "that's too rich" and would take a cupcake over a bag of chips any day.  Shakeolgoy kicks those cravings to the curb.  It also gives you energy, but in a good, non-shaky, no crashing kind of way.  Most people spend $4+ on Starbucks or lunch a day and if you break it down that's how much Shakeology costs per serving.  Plus, I don't know about you, but I don't get my recommended 5-9 servings of fruits and veggies in on a typical day but with Shakeology I do.  It's now clinically proven to help with weight loss so I feel 100% confident recommending it.

There are a few other dining out apps that I like to use but recently all of them have been crashing when I go to use them so I am hesitant to recommend one.  But I found them extremely helpful when we would go out to dinner, especially to a place where a salad seems like a good option but in reality you'd be better off ordering a burger.  Not that that happened to me.

And for my workout gear...I have to share because I get asked about my favorite places to get that stuff too.  I am cheap when it comes to clothes I'm just going to sweat in so I can't fathom paying the prices that I've seen at some stores {I'm looking at you Lululemon}.  I really like Old Navy's workout gear.  I have sports bras, compression capris, yoga pants, tanks, you name it and they are all really comfy and hold up well after washing a billion times.  I also got a few really cute, motivational tanks from Strong, Confident, YOU on Etsy.  I also swear by Brady Bands headbands.  I have one for every day of the year and there's a reason, THEY DON'T MOVE.  Like not even an inch.  I have done handstands, wore them to the beach, slept in them and they have stayed in place.  So go get yourself like 10.

OK, I think that covers all the bases.  What other questions do you have?  I'm here to help and I want to get everyone on track with their health and fitness goals so let me know what you want to know!

I'm sure many of you are sick of hearing about T25.  I get it, it's pretty much all I've blogged about over the past few months.  I'm sorry I'm not sorry because, YOU GUYS!  This program is legit.  This is the first and only program I've seen all the way through, all 18 weeks of it {from alpha to gamma}.  I've actually looked forward to doing it, most days, even.  There was even a period of time where I was doing it seven days a week because I just hated taking that one day off!

Where did we leave off with this program?
Oh yeah, right there.  I was feeling pretty good.  Significant changes had been made during beta and I was actually pretty comfortable in a bathing suit.  Of course I still had work to do {and still do} but overall I was impressed with beta round.

Gamma is another 4-8 weeks.  The first four weeks is pure gamma, meaning you just do the gamma workouts.  One thing I loved about that phase was there were no more two-a-day Fridays!  Woo!  But then you switch over to the gamma hybrid for the second four weeks and not only are two-a-day Fridays back but also you incorporate some of the workouts from alpha, beta, and gamma in that round.  I think that was my favorite phase because it was such a good mix of strength, cardio, core and total body.

And for the grand finale...