At a charity event I attended last weekend, I was talking to a very nice girl who asked me about my business with Beachbody.  When I mentioned that P90X was one of our programs, she said…

“Oh!  P90X!  My husband was doing that!  He got to about day 45 and then stopped.  And he was doing so well!”

I hear this often, and in fact, I’ve experienced it for myself.  I must have started and stopped P90X at least 3 or 4 times.  On the other hand, I’ve also successfully completed the full 90 days.

So, what are the keys that make for a successful 90 days?  I’ve given that some thought the past few days.

• Have faith that you will emerge on the other side a better person.
• Either write down your workouts on your calendar, or automatically schedule your workouts in the Team Beachbody WOWY calendar.
• Plan on a time of day that you will do your workouts.  Stick to that time as long as it’s working for you.  But if you need to make a change, then MAKE IT!
• Have all of the equipment you need ready to go (more on that in a future post).
• If at all possible, make plans to start the program with a loved one.  You’ll need the support.  You can get additional support from your Beachbody coach.
• Make plans to improve your nutrition.  This is a larger part of results than most people realize.

I had been contemplating starting a new round of P90X anyway, so I thought this would be a good time to do it.  I decided that I would share my journey through my blog.

Today was day one and the first workouts were Ab Ripper X and Chest and Back.  I hope I can lift my arms tomorrow! 

So look for a weekly blog post from me sharing:

• Tips
• Recipe ideas and how they break down for the P90X portion plan.
• My struggles, and how I’m dealing with them.
• My successes (and I hope you’ll celebrate with me)

But I don’t want this to be all about me!  I want you to share your journey as well (it doesn’t matter if you are doing a program other than P90X).

With any luck, we’ll all learn a lot and be a LOT healthier!  I’m excited to share this journey with you!

Your friend in fitness,

Judy

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I received an email the other day that just THRILLED me.  One of the things I enjoy most in life is encouraging others to lead a healthy lifestyle.  Honestly, sometimes it can be frustrating.  People have more excuses when it comes to eating right and exercise than children have excuses for not doing their homework!

But then there are people like Andrea.  We met through Beachbody’s customer lead program.  Beachbody entrusts me with their customers, and my job is to support and encourage them (which we’ve already established that I LOVE).  I sent a welcome email to Andrea and also a voice mail welcoming her to Beachbody, and introducing myself as her personal coach.  We quickly started developing a relationship.

Andrea has had a lot of questions for me, but 90% of her emails are all about her “WHY”…playing in the park this summer with her two little children!  Since she has continually focused on WHY she wants to lose weight and get into shape, she’s sticking with her program, looking for answers, and changing her habits.

She’s had her share of challenges…including her little son deciding to get up VERY early in the morning and interrupting her workout time.  She worked through that, and kept losing weight.

Here’s the email Andrea sent me the other day:

Hi Judy:

Today I am wearing a pair of pants that I could not fit into around this time of year last year.  Last August when I tried these pants on I could not get them past my thighs.  I tried everything in my power to pull these pants up to fit and they would not go past my thighs without riping off a button.

Today I am wearing the same pants and Judy, beleive it or not, these pants are fitting me, they are extremely loose and I started to cry when I put these pants on because I thought about just last year when I put these same pants on and they wouldn’t go past my thighs I knew in my heart I would never get this weight off.

Judy, I am still crying as I am typing you this email because I can’t believe these pants are fitting me, not only fitting me but they are very loose.  When I see things like this happen when I never thought could it just makes me want to keep going.  Judy when I look back to my past DIET, I see myself eatting until I was full, eatting because I was stress or angry about something, eatting to take my mind off of things or eating just because a certain food was there.

Now when I look at myself today I don’t see me trying to lose weight because of a DIET.  I see my trying to lose weight to gain my strength back, good health, live longer for my children and a BETTER LIFE STYLE.  DIET is no longer in my vocabulary.  Judy now when I eat I spread my meals out to 5-6 small meals a day and the best part is that I don’t eat many snacks.  Instead of having 3 meals and 2  snacks I actually eat 5 meals and 1 snack (the snack is only if I am craving something).  I found out that replacing snacks with small meals will keep you fuller longer.  For instance for my mid morning snack I may have 1/2 peanut butter sandwich with an apple vs. cake or a candy bar etc..  I realize I don’t need bad junk fund to stop my cravings there are always alternatives out there and I use the internet and weight watchers to look for them.

Judy, I am so proud of myself that I can fit into these pants I don’t know how to act.  Now I have at least 25 pair of jeans in my closet, some of them I have not even worn yet because I gained so much weight.  My husband since last year told me to give all those jeans to the United Way and let them donate them to shelters etc.  Judy, by this summer I am going to fit in those jeans and tell him I will donate other clothing but I will get my sixe 8 back.  No rush but I will be in an 8 again.  Right now I went from a size 16 in pants and now I am wearing a 12 and the 8 is not  to far behind.

Sorry for the long email but I needed someone to share my good news with.

Now, is Andrea JUST excited about fitting into a pair of pants she hasn’t fit into in years?  Absolutely not!  She knows that it is just one step in her journey toward the REAL prize…effortlessly playing in the park with her children this summer.

Once she achieves that goal, I’m sure that she will be choosing another goal.  Andrea is just THAT type of woman…one that is determined to develop a healthy lifestyle…for herself AND her children!

To your health!

Judy

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So here are the final results!  I did the 3 day Shakeology Cleanse last week, and I weighed and measured myself on Saturday morning.  I lost a total of 4 pounds and 3 1/2 inches…2 of them from my waist. The inches lost really surprised me!  I had to keep remeasuring to make sure it was correct!

So all in all, I think that this was a success!  It was pretty easy to follow.  I was a little hungry, but not too bad.  Usually, when I was hungry, it was because it was time for another shakeology or my salad.  I think that there were two things that helped with my hunger…the green tea and drinking enough water.

Drink your water people!  It’s SO important to weight loss…cleanse or no cleanse!

So I think I’ll be repeating the cleanse again in the future, so stay tuned for that.  In the meantime, if you have any questions, feel free to comment here or contact me through my Shakeology website.

Together we’re better!

Judy

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Day 2 is in the books and day 3 is well underway!  I’ve been weighing myself every morning at the same time.  That’s crucial to getting the most accurate results.  I know that I can be 2-3 pounds different depending on what time of day I weigh myself.  By the way, just in case if may seem like I am obsessed with the scale…I’m NOT!  I usually don’t even weigh myself unless my pants are fitting me differently.  The only reason I’m weighing daily now is because it’s all part of this cleanse…just to see what’s going on with my body.

I’m also not kidding myself that this is fat loss.  It’s probably mostly water weight and maybe some “crud” my body has been hanging onto.  That’s what “detoxifying” is for anyway!  Getting rid of the “crud’!

Okay…so when I weighed myself this morning, I was down another 1.8 pounds for a total of 4 pounds in 2 days.  My energy level is fantastic today!  I didn’t even get that sleepy feeling this afternoon, and that’s rare for me!  I’ve been able to get through my workouts with no trouble (I’m doing P90X).

I’ve felt a little hungry at times, but usually when it’s almost time for another meal or snack.

So, all in all, I think things are going very well!  I’m very curious to see what the final results will be tomorrow morning!

If you’d like to know more about Shakeology, please feel free to visit my Shakeology website.  You can order from there, and if you any any questions, feel free to comment on this blog or click on the “contact me” button on the shakeology website!

Together we’re better!

Judy

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So day one went well!  I was a little hungry at times, but it was really close to the time I should be eating anyway.  I started too late yesterday (had my first Shakeology around 9:30AM), so I missed my second cup of green tea.  I also didn’t drink all 3 bottles of water (20 ounces in each).  There was about half of the 3rd bottle left.  I’m not worried about that because my Shakeology meals had plenty of water in them!

My energy level was pretty good.  I had a short nap around noon.  When I had my second Shakeology of the day (around 2PM) I got a nice burst of energy.  The same thing happened when I had my third Shakeology around 8:30PM…I felt energized.  That worried be a bit because it was getting close to bed time.  However, I fell asleep at around 10:30PM and slept through the night.  I woke up before the alarm clock at 5:30AM…mostly because all of that water I ingested the day before was looking to escape! 

I got on the scale this morning, and I was down 2.2 pounds.  I’m reserving my excitement about that until I see if what I lose stays off of me!    I plan on reporting daily while I’m doing the cleanse, and then one week later (to see if it “stuck”)!

My real hope for this is that it kick starts my weight loss by reducing my cravings for certain foods, so even if I gain a little of the weight back, it will be worth it in the long run.

Stay tuned for Day 2 results tomorrow!

Together we’re better!

Judy

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I think the closest I ever got to doing a cleanse was one day when I decided that I would fast on water only. That was tough. I was low on energy. I also tried a 6 day slim down diet that came with one of my Beachbody programs. It was about 1200 calories a day, and I lasted 3 days before I just had to eat more!

I like to think I’m open minded, but cleansing was just not something that I put too much stock into. I figured that once I started eating regularly again I would put all of the weight back on.

Well, I put on about 14 pounds over the winter, and I’ve been having some trouble getting them back off. I eat pretty healthy, but I just have some foods I’ve been craving…like peanut butter. Then those darn girl scout cookies came! You know…just WAY too many indulgences!

Then I read about a 3 day cleanse Beachbody was trying out using Shakeology. This is a product that I sell as an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. I’ve been using it since March of 2009, and I haven’t gotten sick since I started using it. It tastes GREAT. It’s easy to make. It’s quick. And…it’s got SO much healthy stuff packed into it! Some people tell me it’s too expensive at $4 per serving, but I’ve come to believe that it’s worth the cost. It’s got a LOT more value to it than a $3 or $4 latte, and it tastes even better!

Anyway, because this cleanse was using Shakeology, I started looking into it. I discovered that Beachbody’s Director of Results, Steve Edwards had done it and lost 10 pounds in 3 days. This is a guy who is in exceptional shape, but he admitted in his blog that he did the cleanse after a weekend of “debauchery”…he ran a lot, but ate a lot of bad food and drank a lot of beer (he was celebrating his wife’s birthday).

Again, Steve lost 10 pounds in 3 days, but his goal really wasn’t weight loss.  It was to detoxify and bring his body back into homeostasis in preparation for his return to healthy eating.

So I decided to be open minded and give it a shot! Here are the details of what is included in each day:

• Shakeology for Breakfast and Lunch

• Dinner is a green salad with 4 ounces of white protein (chicken or fish), unlimited veggies, small amount of low fat salad dressing is allowed

• 2 cups of green tea

• 1 snack – Shakeology again (your choice where to put this in your day)

• Lots of Water

• Optional – up to 3 pieces of fruit. This is for people who are in fairly good condition without too much weight to lose and may need the extra calories to power their workouts.

I’ll be reporting in over the next few days to let you know how it’s going!

Together we’re better!

Judy

UPDATE: Steve said in his blog that the cleanse was about 1500 calories daily.  I asked Steve how he came up with that number because every time I calculated the calories, it came in at around 800-1000 (including the fruit).  He said that because of his activity level he needed some extra calories, so he got it by adding seeds (flax and chia) and nuts (walnuts and almonds) to his salads and shakes.

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Listen up folks!  This is CRITICAL to your life, no matter what your goal is!  It could be losing weight, gaining muscle, succeeding at business…ANYTHING!

“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes”.  ~ Mahatma Gandhi

I listened to a conference call yesterday morning.  A woman named Debbie was talking about how she lost a considerable amount of weight.  I missed the total number of pounds lost since I joined the call a little late, but I know it was a significant amount.

She mainly talked about how she got herself into the mindset for weight loss.

Her first big change happened one night while watching “The Biggest Loser”.  She said that she can relate to a lot of the stories of those people.  All of a sudden it hit her…if those people lost weight, then she could too.

All of a sudden she believed it was possible!

She’s a smart woman, she knew that she would not be able to lose it as fast as the people on “The Biggest Loser” because there was no way she was going to work out 8 hours per day like they do.

That was her epiphany moment…that moment when she made a decision to make a change no matter what!

She sought out help. She had tried those weight loss centers with the “packaged” foods before, but she knew they weren’t for her.  She wanted REAL food.  She found a place that emphasized unprocessed, real food.  Sorry, but I forget the name of it…Slim something…but that doesn’t matter.  What DOES matter is that she searched for a place that didn’t just promise quick results.  She wanted LASTING results.  She wanted a lifestyle change!

Anyway, she paid these people hard earned money to help her, and she decided she was going to do what they told her.  She knew the basics of the diet made sense to her, so she put her trust in her coaches there.  She met with them 3 times a week.

At first, some of the things they told her to do, she would say “REALLY”?  Some things sounded so silly to her.  BUT…she had paid them, and they knew better than her at this point, so she would eventually come around.

One thing they told her to do was to write AFFIRMATIONS on index cards (one on each).  Then she was to carry them with her everywhere, and read them several times per day.  These became her weight loss affirmations.

Debbie’s initial response was…“REALLY”?    But she reminded herself “I paid these people and right now, they know more than I do”.  So she did it.

They told her that these weight loss affirmations were not things that she CURRENTLY believed, but that she WANTED to believe.

At first, she had no idea what to write down, so she went to the internet and googled “affirmations”.  That gave her a starting point.

Here are a few of her weight loss affirmations:
1) I will do whatever it takes.
2) I am grateful and proud of how great I look today.
3) I deserve to be healthy and super fit.
4) I am developing clean eating and consistent exercise habits that are so ingrained into my lifestyle that they stay with me for the rest of my life.
5) It is exhilarating to work out first thing every morning.
6) I don’t perform strength training to maintain, but to improve. And if I want to improve today, I must beat my previous workout and do something I’ve never done before.

Remember, Debbie didn’t believe this would work at first.  She went on BLIND FAITH that it would.  And guess what?  It DID!

She was asked “How does your mindset differ NOW from when you first started”?

She said “I used to look for external motivation…watching the biggest loser…looking to others to motivate me.  There’s nothing wrong with that, but now I think my motivation mostly comes from within.  I didn’t like myself when I first started.  Now I truly love myself, and I WANT to take care of myself.”

WOW!!!  Now THAT’S a change in mindset!!!

Everyone should be using affirmations!  Figure out what you WANT and then figure out what you would need to believe for that to come into your life.  Write them one by one on index cards, and read them with BELIEF several times per day!

Do YOU have any weight loss affirmations (even if you don’t CALL them that)?  Please share them so that we all can benefit!  How about affirmations for business success?  Thanks in advance for sharing!

Together, we’re better!

Judy

P.S.  I almost forgot one of the main ideas she touched on!  SHE took personal responsibility for herself and all of her problems!  She started off the call with this quote…

“Excuses are the nails used to build a house of failure.” ~ Don Wilder

She had a lot excuses that most people would say are good ones, including her husband dying during this process.  But she was determined to make a change NO MATTER WHAT, and she did…no matter WHAT obstacle was in her path.

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I thought I’d spend some time on the basics of fitness according to Tony Horton.  For those who don’t know, Tony is the creator of the P90X Home Workout Routine.  You may have seen it on TV as you were surfing through the channels on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

Tony has what he calls “The 11 Laws of Fitness”.  I first learned these at a Tony Horton Fitness Camp in New York in 2007.  They are very good, basic laws that are critical to developing a healthy LIFESTYLE.  No diets.  No temporary fixes…but a lifestyle!

Tony’s first law is VARIETY.  How boring would life be without variety?  Human beings are strange creatures.  We have a basic need for both consistency and variety.  As far as exercise goes, I’ve often said that I have exercise A.D.D.  Doing the same routine day in and day out is just too boring for me!  That’s probably why I have a library of just about every home workout routine that Beachbody has produced!  I like being able to choose the workout that will achieve the goal I’m aiming for that day, but add some variety to prevent boredom.

Adding variety to your workouts can help you to avoid the setbacks of injuries, plateaus, and boredom.  I used to work at a Wellness Center, and there was one man there who was losing weight, and then plateaued.  I suggested that he talk to the Program Manager, and have her design a new program with different exercises.  He said he was happy with what he was doing.

The only problem was that his previous routine…the one that helped him lose weight…was no longer working.  Why?  His body had adapted, and it was no longer hard.  That’s probably why he didn’t want to change.  He remembered how hard the routine was in the beginning, and he probably remembered how sore he was that first week or two.

But that’s the funny thing about working out.  When your body adapts, the best thing you can do is set up a new challenge.  Changing up the routine is a great way to do that.  That’s what I love about P90X so much.  I’m currently in week 4 of this round of P90X.  For the first 3 weeks, I had a schedule that included the same workout every Monday (chest and back), another every Tuesday (Plyometrics)…and well…you get the idea.

Now in recovery week, I’m doing cardio, yoga, and stretching.  Next week, I’ll be into another phase where I’ll have the same workout routine every Monday, another every Tuesday…etc.  Some of these routines will be different than those I did in weeks 1-3.

The point I’m trying to make is that I’ll be switching up the workouts every few weeks.  Tony calls that “muscle confusion”, and it works very well!

Other ways I add variety into my workouts?  When it starts to get a little warmer here in Pennsylvania, I’ll start running again.  I’ve been taking Zumba classes every Saturday morning.  Zumba is a Latin dance based cardio workout.  I’ve also considered taking a class at a new ice rink near here.  They call the class “icercize”.

You need to keep your workouts fun and interesting.  Will you enjoy them ALL?  Probably not.  There are some workouts that I know I need to do, but I’m just not in the mood for.  Sometimes I enjoy cardio more, sometimes resistance training is more fun for me.  I almost never enjoy yoga WHILE I’m doing it, but I feel SO good after the workout is done.

But overall, I try to keep the fun in it.  I do a lot of my workouts from home, but when I can workout with a friend, that adds an element of fun to the workout…especially if you can find a friend who is just a little better at the workout than you.  It pushes you to be better!

One of my favorite ways of adding variety to my workouts is Tony Horton’s One on One Series of home workout routines.  It’s sort of like a magazine.   A new workout comes every month.  I have no idea how Tony keeps coming up with new stuff for these, but he’s great at mixing it up.  Not to mention that he’s hilarious in them!  It’s just him and the director Mason in the room, and they film from beginning to end with no cuts.  One time, Tony ripped his pants at the beginning of the workout, and they continued to film!  Too funny!

So that’s it!  Remember to get variety in your workouts!  Be curious!  Try a new home workout routine or look for a new class in your area!  You’ll be more apt to stick with it in the long term!

Together we’re better!

Judy

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Melissa needed to make a change!  This Mom of 5 had no energy to keep up with her children, and she became depressed.  All she did every day was watch TV and eat.  She knew that if she didn’t change, she wouldn’t be around to care for her children.

She asked her doctors for medication, but they told her that she needed to take better care of herself  and “get her mind right”.  She hired a personal trainer, and got no results.

Then she heard that a workout group was being formed at her church.  The class was doing Chalene Johnson’s Turbo Jam home workout routines, and Melissa was immediately hooked!  She found that it was easy to pick up.

“Chalene was so full of energy, and her cast was so fun! I remember doing other workouts at home, and it’d be the same thing—day after day after day—so when I knew there was not only one Turbo Jam, but there’s a whole line of ‘em, and every day I could do something different. I knew that it was really something for me.”

When Chalene Johnson came out with a new program called ChaLEAN Extreme, Melissa decided to give that a try too.  For accountability, she used the Beachbody message boards and kept in close contact with her coach.

“Not only am I fitter, I’m healthier, but I don’t have that depression any more. I’m happier than I’ve ever been . . . I’m full of energy, my marriage is happy and fulfilled because I’m happy and fulfilled. A year ago I never would have thought that fitness would be the key to me being so happy.”

After dropping 60 pounds with Beachbody home workout routines, Melissa transformed not only physically, but mentally as well.  Because of the inspiration of her Beachbody coach, Melissa decided to become a Beachbody coach too!  Now she’s “passing it on” and helping others just as her coach helped her!

THAT is why I’m a Beachbody coach!  I was helped by my coach (Traci), and now I’m passing it on!  If you need help, feel free to contact me!  This is the way we are going to fight the obesity crisis in America, by one person helping another and then passing it on!

Together we’re better!  SO TRUE!

Judy

P.S.  All of the success stories I’m posting have won $1,000 in a Beachbody transformation contest.  Some of them are in the running for a quarterly $10,000 prize.  If you would like access to all of the success stories to look through, you can create a free Team Beachbody Account by clicking here.

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WOW!  This success story just blew me away!  At only 33 years old, Jeremy tipped the scales at 370 pounds, was on medication for his dangerously high blood pressure, and walked with a limp due to severe arthritis.

Jeremy had no energy and that was a problem because he had two young active sons.  All Jeremy ever wanted to do was sit on the couch.  Life was passing him by, but he was complacent about his weight.

I’m always fascinated by that “moment”…that thing that flips the switch in a person’s mind and all of a sudden, they HAVE to make changes.  When you get to that point, the solution will show up!

Well, Jeremy had a good friend who was willing to tell him the hard truth.

“He asked me how I would feel if another man had to replace me and raise my sons, um, I was speechless . . . It made the situation really real for me. It forced me to think of the real events that would occur if I didn’t change my ways.”

Ouch!  I could see how that would motivate Jeremy!  We’ll do things for our children we would NEVER do for ourselves!

A high school athlete, Jeremy started asking buddies what they were doing to get in shape and found that many were doing the P90X^® home workout routine.  When he saw the way their eyes lit up when describing P90X, Jeremy knew the program was for him.

The most appealing characteristic of P90X that Jeremy’s friends described was the variety. The home workout routines in P90X included strength training days, cardio days, and days when they did stretching.

Jeremy loved the workouts, but there were major obstacles in his quest to get fit. He continually faced the temptation to eat poorly, and the arthritis in his ankle caused him intense pain.

“When I first started P90X, I swear I used every modification that Tony could throw at me. Whether it was from being so out of shape or physically being too big for my ankle, I had to modify everything. I really struggled. But around every corner there was Tony saying, ‘Do your best, and forget the rest.’ So many times I felt like he was personally talking to me.”

Jeremy probably felt like quitting many times, but I’m sure that when those times occurred, he heard his friend’s voice inside his head saying “Do you want another man to replace you to raise your sons”?  He pushed through the difficulties, and completely changed his life!  He’s no longer the Dad who just sits on the couch while his sons are playing.  He’s right in there playing with them!

P90X is a great program, but it IS intense!  Sure there are ways to modify it, but what few people actually know is that Tony Horton (the trainer who developed the P90X home workout routines) also developed some programs which are meant to ease you into P90X.

The Power90 home workout routine is a great place to start!  The workouts are shorter and much less intense.  Tony also developed the Power90 Master Series of home workout routines.  Those are somewhere between Power90 and P90X.

The important point to remember from Jeremy’s story is that he first made the decision to no longer be complacent about his weight.  He discovered his “WHY”, and it was a very powerful one…so that HE could be the one to raise his boys…not some other man.

What is YOUR why?  If you ever want to change your life, finding your why and keeping it at the forefront of your mind is essential to your success!

Together we’re better!

Judy

P.S.  Jeremy won $1,000 for his transformation story using Beachbody products, and now he is in the running to win $10,000.  If you’d like a free Team Beachbody account so that you can vote for the man and woman who will each win $10,000, just click here!

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