Most of you know that I started a HEALTHY lifestyle change 2.5 years ago and it has forever changed just about every aspect of my life.
It's time for me to GIVE BACK and invite YOU to our upcoming accountability & support group that starts November 14th!
We are going into one of the HARDEST times to stay on track with our nutrition and fitness - the HOLIDAY season!
We will be focusing on how to create HEALTHY HABITS that you can take BEYOND our accountability & support group! Habits that you can use for the rest of your life. Habits that will help you feel the BEST you have felt! Habits that you can incorporate with your family! Yes, everything we do is FAMILY FRIENDLY!
We will be focusing a lot on how to still be able to ENJOY the holiday season and goodies that come along with it, but also finding balance with healthy food and portion choices!
We will be supplying you with a TON of HEALTHY, family friendly holiday dishes that you're not going to want to miss!
Please select "Going" or "Interested" if you're ready to make a HEALTHY change in your life and you would like to learn a little more about the at-home exercise programs and nutrition tools that have helped me become the BEST version of MYSELF that I've ever been!
***There will be a few GIVEAWAYS during the event, so make sure you stay connected!***
Please note: This is for non-coaches and those who are not currently working with another coach! Thanks! If you are interested, please head here to RSVP on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/195835497519726/
I titled this post today “Squashing Some Misconceptions”
because I think that unless you go out and you learn the information about what
it is I do you may have some misconceptions about it, especially about the
fitness programs: that they may be super hard and you can't do it, or you don't
have the time, or the space. I just want to let you know where I did my workout
this morning. I'm at my in-laws house and all you need is like an L-shaped
space: that's it. All you need to do is be able to take a few steps up and a
few steps to the side. For the dancing workout programs like Country Heat and
Cize, an L-shape is all you need. For most of these workout programs you just
need to be able to have that bubble around you: if you can put your arms out
and twirl in a circle without hitting anything that's all the space you need to workout at home.
You don't need fancy equipment, either. Country Heat in particular requires no
equipment at all, just my body, and I'm sweating like you wouldn’t believe. So
that’s the first misconception: how much space you need.
The second misconception about working out at home is
that you need a ton of time: these workouts are 30 minutes long. That’s not a
ton of time in the grand scheme of your day, especially given that in the morning
it will really get your blood pumping, digestive system moving, and give you energy. You probably
won’t even need your coffee! You can even have the news on in the background
and mute the workout on your computer so that you can do the news and your workout
at the same time.
I am two-and-a-half years into my fitness journey, so I
have done extreme programs. There are programs, like Country Heat, that are so
accessible for anybody. Country Heat has been making me sore: squats and stuff
like that are built into the moves. It's very deceptive because you think it's
easy just because it's simple. But because it's simple everyone can do it, if
you're willing to try. You don't have to get all the way down in your squats or
jump huge like some of the people; as long as you're moving and having fun
that's all that matters. There's no equipment, just your body. You’re not just standing
there and doing squats, push-ups, or burpees; you're just moving and following
along to the music and it's so much fun.
I can tell you that I have felt a world of difference in
my midsection from this program. I have been more mindful of what I have been
eating, Ihaven't been 100% on the eating plan because let's just face
it: I don't like vegetables but I fit them in. I’ve also been more mindful of
what I eat if we eat out. For example, last night we drove through McDonald's
because we were traveling during dinner time and instead of a double quarter pounder
with cheese and chocolate chip frappe that I may have had a couple months ago, Corey
and I split the two cheeseburger meal, shared the fries, and I just had water to
drink. I know that’s not the same as grilling some salmon with steamed
asparagus and olive oil and sweet potatoes on the side…let’s be real, its not.
But of the choices I had available, I made a good one. I didn't starve myself
and skip dinner Ijust had a smarter portion of what wasavailable.
I have lost some weight, I have lost or gained some
definition in my midsection which is awesome and if dancing around in my living
room for 30 minutes a day can give me a few pounds shred, a few inches lost,
and some confidence to rock some new yoga pants…that's a win in my book and that's
really what it's all about. This health and fitness journey is about giving you
the confidence to know that you're doing something that is better for your body.
When you find yourself not craving junk anymore and you find yourself having an
apple with your daughter instead of grabbing your secret stash of M&M’s (because
let's really be real, most moms have a secret stash to keep away from their
kids so they don't have to share), you know you’re on the right track.
I bought the program because
my friends were doing it, so why don't you let some positive peer pressure
change your life, too? Really!! My friend was doing fitness programs three years
ago and I could have just ignored her, unfollowed her, or got mad that she kept
inviting me but instead I was like “You know what? You're my friend; you have
my best interest at heart and if you think that I can do this then I'm going to
try.”
And now I'm so glad that I did!So I'm extending an
invitation to you! Let me exert some positive peer pressure on you: you need to
try a program- I’ll help find one that is the perfect match for you. You need to try it, because
what do you have to lose? If half an hour can make a day can make you a
healthier person, a happier person, a more confident person, a more patient
person…then why haven't you tried it yet?! You know I've been asking you to try
it, so let's put the doubt, fear, and excuses away and let me help you. I will
be there everyday with you. I promise that if you put in the work, I will not
let you fail. Please reach out if you are ready to take that step today!
Thanks to Facebook's Memories, I'm remembering 10 years ago today: August 27, 2006.
I was beginning my junior year at Northland College. This picture was taken while riding on a bus to a preseason soccer game in the UP of Michigan.
If I'm being honest, when I first saw the picture posted in 2006, my first reaction was "ooo you can see my hip bone sticking out when I lay like that" and I felt like I was doing something right to have that be my body shape. 😯 (I don't think I need to tell you that THAT is not a healthy thought/body aspiration.)
I worked so hard all summer to improve myself- working out in the company fitness room during my lunch break and having maybe half a sandwich or granola bar to refuel myself. All of that sweat and work, only to spend a couple days in the hospital to be diagnosed with endometriosis and essentially lose all of that progress.
Every month that school year I would often spend days in a row in bed curled up with a heating pad and take ibuprofen like it was candy, crying from the pain.
The end of August and early September was also when my Grandpa George and Grandmother (Fox) passed away. I remember visiting my Grandmother in the hospital after her heart surgery and passing out from low blood sugar.
That was the last time I ever saw her, and she was worrying about me from her hospital bed. To this day I cannot have plain vanilla milkshakes because of the memory associated with drinking part of hers to raise my blood sugar after passing out.
We didn't know at the time, but we only had 5 months left before my Grandpa Fox would pass away as well.
That year was so difficult and challenging for soccer, family, and school. Especially in 2nd semester, my grade dropped weekly in the hardest physics class I would ever take. I'd break down crying in my teacher's office, trying to manage my grief and stress while being unable to understand the material. 😪
If only I knew then what I know now...
That working out past exhaustion on no calories was not the way to lose weight or perform better on the soccer field. Food was not the enemy- food was FUEL.
That I didn't have to carry the burden of grief and stress alone. I didn't have to be mad at God- it only isolated me from His love even more.
All of these memories from a simple picture. I'm reminded of not only what I went through at that time but how far I've come since. ❤️
Good morning, everyone! I hope you're doing well this Tuesday.
I just posted a picture of Addie and I after my workout to Facebook and was typing
a caption and I felt like what I was typing was not enough to explain the story
behind the picture so I wanted to share all of my feelings here to the blog.
I'm emotional thinking about it right now as I type.
Addie sometimes just watches TV upstairs when I work out,
but lately she's been a downstairs with me. I think she likes Tony Horton and
22 Minute Hard Corps. Today she was with me for 2 of the 3 rounds and I ended
up taking a video on my phone of almost the entire workout of the both of us
just because I want to preserve that memory. That experience is something that
I never thought was possible for my life; something if you would have shown me
that video 3 years ago I would have laughed at you and I would have said:
·You're crazy, there's no way that is that that kind of
workout is fun.
·There's no way that that I could keep up with that.
·There's no way that I would be laughing and having fun with
it.
The fact that I would have this amazing, energetic,
strong daughter who loved doing it with me- I wouldn't have believed it. I realize
that a lot of the things I post might seem out of reach for people that follow
me, and I just want to tell you that it doesn't have to be out of reach. My
first goal was 5 pounds at a time, and I lost 5 pounds in my first 21 days! More
than 5 pounds, actually. The weight that I got down to, the energy I have, and
the things that I've accomplished never even crossed my mind as possible to
shoot for because it was so far removed from the life I was living.
For example, with what we eat: I never ate yogurt at all growing
up. I thought it was disgusting or sour. Do you know what my favorite treat is
now like if Corey and Addie make a s’more for dessert?? I have a vanilla greek
yogurt and sprinkle in maybe a couple chocolate chips or a handful of cinnamon
granola organic granola. That's my dessert! That's something that my body
craves which is wild, because I never would have touched the stuff 3 years ago.
The fact that I ran a 10k last fall is something that you
might think, “Oh I'd like to do that someday.” but you never really do anything
about trying to reach the goal. The fact that I can go out on any given day and
go for a 3-mile run and have it be no big deal…that is something that I never
thought was possible. When I was growing up I couldn't even finish the mile in
junior high without having a friend have to run into the school and get my
inhaler for me because I couldn't breathe. I was not in shape. I ate terribly.
Just recently I had a pear slice; I thought it was a green apple! I had never had
a pear that didn't come in like heavy cling syrup!
I've liked posting videos lately of my workouts to
Facebook to show that I like doing it when Addie does it with me. It's just so
much fun to look at and see the life that I live and what's possible with being
healthy and putting yourself first. I just want to let you know that if you're
intimidated at all by the things that I post and think that I'm drinking some
crazy happy juice, I totally know how you feel because that's how I felt, too.
Before I started, I could not last an entire day without taking a nap with
Addison. Everyday I would literally sleep in, lay in bed with her watching TV, get
up, come to the couch, turn the TV on and sit there all day. I would play with
her and do the absolute minimum, and there would be times when I would fall
asleep on the couch as she was playing because I just had no energy to do
anything.
For one thing, that’s not safe, and I felt incredibly
guilty every time that happened, but I just had nothing in me to give. It was
embarrassing and I hated myself for it. The first thing that I thought when a
friend of mine started showing these awesome changes in her life was that I
resented her for it, and I didn't want to see her posts because I was jealous
of her. I thought that there was no way that I could ever have what she had;
she must be super special or have something. But all she really had was better
tools than me, and a support system.
She shared that with me, and now I'm the one that posts
the annoying happy stuff all the time ;) and maybe you are the one that is
looking at that and thinks “Awesome, good for her. I could never do that.” But
I want to tell you that you can and I want to tell you that it's possible, and
I want to tell you that it's going to take work. It's going to be long term;
it's not going to be 3 weeks and you're gonna have your goal body and your life
is going to be perfect, because if you stop you're gonna go back to where you
were!
You have to get to the point where you want change so
desperately that you're willing to try something different and you're willing
to stick with it once you see it starting to work. If you would have told me 3
years ago that I would be earning money by sharing about my workouts or that I
would be earning money by working 1-2 hours a day and paying for things like
car repairs or vacations or this super-awesome surprise that I bought tickets
for last night (Disney on Ice!!) I wouldn’t have believed you.
Last night I saw the tickets on sale and I told Corey how
much fun it would be and asked if we should do it. He said yes, and I didn’t
have to think twice about how much it costs because I know that I'm bringing in
money for fun stuff like that. Corey's money is covering the bills most of the
time, and so my money can go to fun stuff like that we would have not had in
our lives before.
I'm so much more thankful for the life I have now because
I have known the complete opposite and I know that I never want that again. I
never want to feel like a medical diagnosis is defining who I am. I never want
to feel like I can't be enough or I can't keep up or have fun with my family. I
want this change for so many other people because it's so, so much more than
the size clothes that I wear; it's so much more than the silly selfies that I
post. I want you to have the same journey as I have had because it's been an
amazing ride.
I'm looking for people to join with me on that ride; so
there's space on my bus and I am moving forward. This post was to let you know
more of where I’ve been so if you identify
with that at all, you should know that it's
possible to change and I want to help you do that. Please follow me on Facebook
at www.facebook.com/boeknowscleanliving and
reach out to me there.
"Beachbody does not guarantee any level of success or income from the Team Beachbody Coach Opportunity. Each Coach's income depends on his or her own efforts, diligence, and skill. See our Statement of Independent Coach Earnings located in the Coach Online Office for the most recent information on our Coaches' actual incomes." In addition, please provide prospective and current Coaches with the link to the Statement of Independent Coach Earnings, http://tbbcoa.ch/TBB_SOICE"
Are YOU feeling that ache for something missing, something more? When I saw some amazingly positive changes in my best friend's life, my first response was not something I'm proud of. I HATED seeing her posts every day. I know people that unfriended/unfollowed her because they couldn't stand her positivity and success and happiness. I could have chosen to wallow in that bitterness too, but that ACHE inside of me WANTED what she had. So when she approached me and invited me to join her, I knew I had to give it a try. And now I am forever grateful to her for sharing this opportunity with me and I feel a calling to share it with others.
Consider this your official invitation to join me on my positive life journey.
Maybe you haven't seen my "before" pictures or been around long enough to hear bits of my story- but I have NOT always been healthy, happy, and confident. I have been through depression, anxiety (still daily!), finding my value in others' opinions of me, taking several prescription medications a day, and believing that nothing was ever going to get better. It wasn't until I took a chance on Beachbody that I found a way out of the shell of a life I was living. It's now my mission to help other people get out of the darkness and enjoy their lives again.
Let me help you- let me do it with you.
If you'd like to apply for a spot in my upcoming private health and fitness accountability group, please fill out this short application: bit.ly/1fitlifegroup
I would love to learn more about you & your goals so I can help you feel the BEST you ever have!! Have a beautiful day!
"Thanks for taking me to VBS today, mom. At first I was nervous but then I really liked it. Thanks for always doing fun stuff with me." ❤️ What a great day. I think first it started out positive because of my planning and mindset and made a choice at each challenging moment to respond with love and grace. But it's also great because I got to spend time seeing my daughter's faith grow and spend time investing into almost 40 3-5 year olds today. ❤️ To think that with the flexibility of my coaching, I was able to do VBS in the morning and then work this afternoon in between playing in the pool and inside with Addie. A schedule based on my needs and those of my daughter and family. ❤️ Corey umped for a Jr High game this morning, prepped his field, and then had a game to coach. Addie is already asleep so she hasn't seen him since 7:30 this morning. 😟 Someday soon he will have his summers "off" for real and it will be because of my job as a Beachbody coach.
I hear from so many people that they have NO TIME to be a coach. I used to think so, too!! I've learned that you CAN create an income by using the little nuggets of your day.
I listened to personal development on my drive down to the baseball game. I drank my Shakeology instead of having candy and a hot dog at the game. And I've been checking in with my challengers in between customers at the concessions stand. Not a huge time commitment, just bits here and there!
If you've seen my posts and wondered even a little bit what coaching might be about, like or comment to this post. My team is hosting a free, no strings informational group this week to answer any/all questions you have about this coaching thing I do.
What is 1 body part you used to hate but now you have a better relationship with?
I used to be really insecure about my legs. I didn't like the term "thunder thighs" but instead I called them "soccer legs". I wished my jeans didn't get pilly and worn thin/through in my thighs. Now that I'm not only more fit but also more confident, I am much more secure in my legs. Who wants toothpicks for legs?! Heck no, I want a strong foundation for my body!! Doing programs like Hammer & Chisel and now P90X3 have given me the chance to really strengthen my legs. I love seeing muscle definition in pics like this. I never fit into the "skinny leg" jeans, but at least I don't have that awful thigh rub/chafing anymore. BAM!
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Who else loves getting fun rewards?! ✋
I have been blown away by the hard work of some of the ladies in my current 60 day accountability group. 💪 I know it's SO hard to stay committed to a new habit and lifestyle, especially for something as long as 60 days! I LOVE giving little prizes as a way to say THANKS for their hard work and to spur them on toward the finish. 🎉
What do you see here? Deep down, I see a couch with hidden Kirby hairs and one that desperately needs to be shampooed.
In years past, I would have let my "perfection infection" drive me nuts and would have deep cleaned not only the couch but the whole house before hosting Addison's birthday party. And if I couldn't get it all done before people came over, I would have been upset. Not to mention very difficult to deal with as I was doing all of the cleaning. . This year I took a different approach and did what I could, asked Corey for help (which he gave and I'm so grateful for), and the rest I just let go and focused on enjoying the people that came to the house and enjoying the celebration. . While reading one of my books "No More Perfect Moms" the author brings up this question: Is our resistance to hospitality and allowing our fears to control us an act of selfishness? Do we care more about how we feel then how our hospitality may make the other person feel? I can guarantee that no one at the party mentioned the fact that my couch would look nicer if it was shampooed; and if anyone thought it at least they didn't say it, so thanks for that! . I am learning that perfection is an unrealistic standard, and maybe just an organized reality and a welcoming heart and spirit is more important than a house that looks like it came out of a magazine. Hospitality is our opportunity to be Jesus to those around us and it is an extension of our hearts. ❤ . Offering hospitality puts the emphasis on others and strives to meet their physical and spiritual needs. I love a part from my book said: your hospitality should make people feel REFRESHED, NOT IMPRESSED when they leave your home. . Do you struggle with extending hospitality to others? I hope that sharing this with you can empower you to replace fear with courage, insecurity with confidence, and judgment with grace. And invite people over to be part of your reality- no unrealistic expectations or perfection required.
The moments captured in THIS picture are part of why I became a Beachbody coach. I was not doing Addie's future self-image and self-esteem any favors by sitting on the couch, loafing around letting anxiety, depression, and laziness rule my life.
I was not doing my family's financial future any favors either. While it's always been my dream to be a stay at home mom, tight finances have been a result of that dream.
Enter Beachbody. My friend Toni saw in me the potential to be happy and healthy again. She knew I could push myself and was willing to do that for me when I wasn't doing it for myself. She is also a stay at home mom and found a way to balance family life with building a debt-crushing business in her free time, WHILE staying fit and healthy, too!
Being a stay at home mom has a lot of responsibilities, but whatever your job may be, there are down times in your day when you're watching tv or scrolling Facebook. I've learned to take those mindless activities and turn them into a way to help pay bills and be my own boss.
She doesn't do it every day, but I love when Addison joins me for a workout. On days like today, the calorie burn is the least important thing on my mind. ❤Giving each other winks and thumbs up, "boo-yah" and fist bump, talking about the latest Lion Guard episode, teaching her pointers when she is excited to join in, and quality bonding time over a habit I hope she continues long after we have the chance to do this together.
What kind of legacy will you leave as a result of your habits and lifestyle? I am looking for ladies who can see themselves in who I used to be, and want to see themselves in parts of who I am now. Because I'm not the only person whose life has been changed by becoming a Beachbody coach, and I won't be the last. But it is up to YOU if you join me in being the author of your own future and being in the drivers seat of your physical and financial health.
If you'd like more information about joining my team to see where we go in 2016, please comment below and I will get in touch with you.
