Get your workout in: Your body will thank you!

I just finished my workout and it completely changed how I feel today.

Wednesday morning at my MOTS meetings is my usual cheat meal and there's always a lot of yummy goodness happening. I was running out the door this morning and didn’t even stop to make my shake. This afternoon I was sitting on the couch, eating Halloween candy with Addison, and yawning and feeling blah! I was seriously planning: “Ok, if I lay down now what time do I need to set my alarm for so I can wake up and not be totally groggy and still go to church tonight with Addie.” I was planning to skip my workout, and actually some Wednesdays I do skip my workout (but never my shake in the morning like I did today). I like to have my workout schedule planned for 7 days but if life happens and I miss a day, then that’s ok.

            But then I got a Facebook notification: Kelly posted a picture of her Shakeology. Tabitha posted that she worked out during both of her kids’ naps. It hit me: If I have a group of women that are looking to me for support and accountability and as an example to help them learn new habits and get healthy and just feel better overall…then I need to live up to what I am asking them to do!!

I can’t imagine having to get all dressed up in gym clothes and drive to the Y (which is half an hour away), and paying those huge membership fees, and making sure someone is watching Addie… just all sorts of stuff to deal with! I'm so glad that I can work out in my sports bra and shorts in my living room whenever I want. If I need to take a break to look Addie’s painting or help her use the bathroom, I can. A lot of my workouts have pauses to help her, and that’s totally cool because let’s be honest: I'm a mom first.

Working out at home and having the support online has made all the difference for me. Even right now, Addie is bringing a pile of books into the living room and wants me to read to her. So my window of “free time” is over. My workout has not only burned calories but also changed my mood, WOKE me up, and given me energy!

Moral of the story: get your workout in and your body will thank you!

2 years into my fitness journey: How all I wanted to do was prove him wrong.

I want to take you on a journey, so stay with me: Timehop showed me the post below from 2 years ago. It took a crazy decision to sign up for a Warrior Dash 5k and knowing I had 7.5 months to get ready for it to start my health and fitness journey. And I actually only signed up for it because my husband didn't think I could complete the race. I wanted to prove him wrong.

You see, the picture on the left was taken in Oct/Nov 2013 and when I saw it on my dads camera, I knew I needed to make a change. I was busting out of all of my clothes and felt terrible about myself. I wanted to hide from the camera and put on a fake smile IF one was pointed at me. I didn't know what to do. So then comes me signing up for the Warrior Dash. I did a Jillian Michaels 30 day DVD for just over 5 months. There were three 10 day cycles. It took me about 2 months to master each cycle. It was half an hour a day and I could barely get through that. I changed nothing about the rest of my physical activity, slept in late every day, and didn't change what I ate. It took 4 months to lose 5 pounds.

My friend Toni knew I was trying to get ready for this race and was there online everyday to give me encouragement and tough love. I also saw her posts about getting so much done, having energy, and loving life. Oh and she had 2 kids and a newborn at that time. Honestly, I wanted to punch her in the face and unfollow her posts. But her daily posts got inside of me and I began to think "maybe I should try what she's doing". So when she approached me about trying Shakeology and learning portion control with a new workout program called the 21 Day Fix, I asked a TON of questions but finally jumped in. What did I have to lose? At first I just added Shakeology to my day; I still didn't change my food, and I continued with my Jillian Michaels DVD. I lost 5 more pounds in half the time as before- 2 more months! Then on April 20, 2013 Corey and I began the 21 Day Fix and I lost more than 5 pounds in only 3 weeks!! Seems like the combo of Shakeology, proper nutrition/portion sizes, and a top notch workout really was the key!

Since then, we have continued to lose pounds/inches, workout 5-7 days a week, drink Shakeology daily, and eat clean/portioned most of the time while doing many other Beachbody programs.

I've also now got a fully normal thyroid- bye bye hypothyroidism and daily Synthroid! I don't suffer from hypoglycemia-no more shaky, dizzy, nauseous, or fainting episodes. I have more energy then my daughter. My smile for pictures is real, not fake. When people ask me how I'm doing, I honestly tell them that I'm doing amazing and that I love my life and I'm so excited about my future. I still have some complaints or crappy days, who doesn't?! But I am filled with this OVERPOWERING JOY knowing that I am living the life God meant for me, that I am taking care of this amazing body He blessed me with, and incredibly honored to share this health and business opportunity with others. 🙌🏻

Oh, and that race I signed up for? I finished it! (Take that, Corey! 😘) And I did another one just like it 2 weeks later without walking at all. This summer, I did a 5k without walking, and ran the entire 10k Pumpkin Run this fall.

In junior high, I had to have a friend run into the locker room to get my rescue inhaler because I couldn't breathe and had to stop in the middle of the mile run. Never did I think my life's journey would have gone this way. 2 years ago if you would have told me where I'd be now, I would have laughed.

It all started with a decision to change and a commitment to stay the course. This is my new reality- the picture on the right. I didn't think it was possible, but my coach and best friend Toni did. If you don't think these kinds of changes are possible for you, I'm telling you right now that THEY ARE!! I will believe in you, even if you don't. You've gotta be the one to decide though, to commit to seeing it through. If you want any of this for yourself, please like/comment/message/carrier pigeon/smoke signal/let me know!! ❤️

How accountability helps you battle excuses and reach your goals: It's made all the difference in my life.

I wanted to share some thoughts I had as I was training for a 10K in October 2015. I mostly signed up for that race because it was a challenge and a goal to work towards. I had been trying to run with a friend but she was out of town so instead I was just going to do my workout at home because that’s easier for me and there are no excuses to not work out at home. But I really needed to get running!! That's the thing: going out in running clothes, putting your shoes on, and going out by yourself is hard because there are so many excuses not to and no one's there to push you on and there's no accountability.

The great thing about the way that I've changed my life in the last year and a half is I have had accountability. I haven't worked out with a person in my living room (besides my husband or daughter) but I have had accountability in my private groups on Facebook and that's been the key. You can have all the tools you need or the willpower but a lot of times that's not going to get you all the way there. What's going to get you there is knowing that someone is going to keep you accountable and that's really what I do as a coach.

I provide accountability for people, listen to their needs, their goals, and their frustrations. I give them suggestions and match them up with something that I think that they can succeed at. And then I am there every single day: checking in, posting, and giving support. It made all the difference for me when I was starting out because I knew that if I didn't work out or if I didn't check in that my coach Toni was going to be there and she was going to ask how I was doing.

During my 10K training I told my coach and I told my husband: “Today I'm going running. If you don't hear from me in 45 minutes: I’m either dead on the side of the road (kidding!) OR I was lazy and I didn't do it." ;) And then, because I knew they were going to be checking in on me, I went out and did what I needed to do. If you are someone that needs that kind of accountability, I would love to be your accountability partner. You can work out in your home! That way you don't have to get dressed up or even put shoes on. You don't have to find someone to watch your kids or pay the daycare center at the gym; you can do it right at home. Those excuses are taken care of and I'm going to be there to check in on you. I will support you if your husband or family doesn’t support you, or if they don't want to try your new recipes, or if they don't want to work out with you. You will know that there's a group of ladies on Facebook that would love to support you and be with you every step of the way.

If you need that same kind of accountability and that I needed when I first started out, and still needed when I did my longest run ever, let me know and I would love to help you.

A playground epiphany

I was at the playground earlier with Addie and I got to thinking about what my life was like before I got in shape- before I joined Team Beachbody as a coach. Even though she wasn’t that old at the time (about a year or year and a half), the playground almost seemed to be a punishment for me because I couldn't do anything with her. I didn't have enough energy to run and play and chase and climb with her. Yes, she's having fun without me, but don't you hate it when your kids say “Mommy come down the slide with me” or “Mommy can you lift me up? I can't reach the monkey bars.” If you're stuck on the bench because you can't fit in the swing, or you can’t run around the playground with your kids…that was my life before I got healthy and got the wake-up call that I needed. I have a little girl to keep up with and set a good example for!

I asked Addie a question of “Is it more fun when mommy plays with you at the playground or when mommy watches you?” What do you think she said? Of COURSE she said it’s more fun when I play with her!!

I do still get tired and need breaks, so I’ll tell her to just give me a minute. Right away I see that she'll get deflated because I didn't have enough energy for her. I just need a minute or two to catch up, but if that's your life every day and you don't have the energy to keep up with your kids, and you see that you don't see that little glimmer in their eyes when you're chasing them or you're going down the slide after them and stuff like that… If my wake-up call is the same as your wake-up call then here it is: I'm reading it for you!!

If you want accountability and encouragement while you are making healthy changes in your life, or if you’d like to see what Beachbody Coaching is all about: how just getting more fit changed my life in other ways, how it pays my bills while I provide support for other people changing their lives, I’d love to share this opportunity with you.

All about Cize: Shaun T can teach anyone to dance- for real!

My last blog entry was about my Cize transformation but I wanted to give a little more background information on what Cize is about as a program. Shaun T is famous for creating programs like Insanity and T25, but his background is also in choreography and dance. His first program through Beachbody was actually Hip Hop Abs. I tried one of those workouts earlier this year when it was released as part of the member library for Beachbody On Demand and couldn’t even get through a 20-minute routine. I have NO coordination and NO dance background. I LOVE music though, so I’ve always struggled with wanting to dance but not knowing how or not feeling confident enough to just let loose, be goofy, and have fun.

When I first heard about Cize I was intrigued but didn’t think that it was for me because it was a dancing program. Beachbody gave a sample workout on Beachbody On Demand before the entire program was released and I had fun doing it, but still didn’t think I would buy the program. It wasn’t until the program was released and I saw how much FUN everyone was having that I decided to buy it myself. Most workouts can be fun, or we do them because we know how good we feel for exercising, but Cize is so different. You are HAVING FUN the WHOLE TIME dancing and not even realizing that time is passing, you are sweating, and the calories are getting torched.

Shaun builds each routine step by step and breaks everything down into simple movements that you already do every day. He says “you move everyday, I’m just putting it to a rhythm.” And he is so right. When you get a move or short sequence done, you add to it and before you know it you are ready to “Cize it up” at the end to a complete dance routine. A really awesome feature of the workouts is that once the routine is over, it goes to a screen where you can pick from the cooldown, 8 count abs routine, or “Cize it up” again. Some of the routines are so great that I kept doing the routine over and over again.

The entire program has 6 routines on 3 discs, plus a short (but effective!) ab workout. They range from 30-50 minutes and features the following songs:

1.     "Hands in the Air" by Timbaland. (It introduces you to the first 8 moves you'll be using for the whole program.)

2.     "Treasure" by Bruno Mars

3.     "Lose My Breath" by Destiny's Child (I loved this routine and would do the “Cize it up” chapter over and over again.)

4.     "Problem" by Ariana Grande

5.     "Pass That Dutch" by Missy Elliot

6.     "Chandelier" by Sia. (This was the last routine in the whole program and really took the emotion and moves to another level where you really were feeling it.)

You can choose from a beginner calendar that takes 6 weeks (1 routine a week) or an advanced calendar for 4 weeks. I felt like a beginner but did the advanced calendar instead because I did not think doing 1 routine for an entire week would hold my interest. Overall I had a great time doing the program. It is completely based on your effort, so beginners to experts can have fun and get their heart rate up at the same time.

            Wow….all of this information and I just realized I didn’t touch on the 2^nd half of the program: the nutrition!! I LOVE the nutrition guide for Cize. It is based off the color-coded portion control containers from the 21 Day Fix, but you can still use the nutrition guide even if you don’t have the containers. The “Eat Up!” guide gives you a food directory so you can eat WHAT you want, but it just shows you HOW MUCH you need. The best part of the book is the meal builder. It gives examples of simple, staple meals, and all the ways you can customize and mix it up. There are pages like eggs every day, oatmeal bowl, yogurt parfait, Shakeology bar, salad bowl, wrap it up, simply grilled, Asian stir fry, healthy pasta, and snacks on the go. For the wrap it up meal you have steps to follow for each category/container of food: pick your wrap, pick your protein, add your veggies, add an “extra”, add dressing, and (optional) add flavor. You’d think a wrap was easy to make, or maybe so easy you get stuck and don’t know how to make it interesting. My family doesn’t really eat from recipes of stuff but we do basics like every Thursday we have a big salad for our meal. So on Thursdays we go to the salad bowl page and can make a different one each time.

            The Cize kit also comes with a get started guide, a weekend survival guide, and (if you order through a coach like me!) a free bonus workout called “Hold Your Own” that gives you some moves you can use when you’re out no matter what song is playing.

You can see my whole YouTube playlist of Cize routine progressions here: bit.ly/kboecizevids

Here is my before/after of the Full Out routine:



When your transformation has nothing to do with a number: a turning point in my transformation

#transformationtuesday

Here are my before and after pictures for Cize. I didn't lose/gain any pounds or inches in the 4 week program. That's why we also say to take pictures because they will show a different story than your numbers. But my pictures look really similar. To be honest, you can gain or lose a couple inches and pounds from a big bloaty cheat meal or a really good trip to the bathroom. (You know what I'm talking about! 🙊)



Did you see my before and after videos I posted though as I finished Cize? Now THERE was a difference! I gained coordination, had fun, and got sweaty. (Check out my YouTube playlist of Cize routine progressions here: bit.ly/kboecizevids)

I looked back at my weight tracker app and I've been steady with my weight for a year now! Even my body measurements have been pretty much the same. I could let this lack of a "transformation" bother me, but let's be realistic. I weigh 112 pounds and am 5 feet tall. I'm not going to lose much more weight or inches. It's just not there. I can tone up or gain muscle, sure.

But fitness and clean eating (with "cheats" in moderation) is my LIFE now. It's not another round of the 21 Day Fix or looking for a before/after picture from a particular program. It's EVERY DAY, IN AND OUT. And guess what? That's how the weight is going to stay off!!

I could get complacent and take time off, or eat out more, or buy junk at the store because it's easier, but those are the habits I left behind. That was my BEFORE. My AFTER is the life I'm living now, and the life I will continue to live.

If you'd like my help starting with your transformation pictures, I can do that. But more than that, I want to be there to see your before and after LIFESTYLE.

Sometimes our transformation can't be seen on a scale, measuring tape, or picture. Sometimes it happens inside of us. 💟

A new meaning to "business casual" wardrobe: working toward financial freedom in my pajamas

If you showed up to your next business meeting looking like this, would you still have a job?



I was:

-still half asleep

-in my pjs

-sporting bed head

-feeding my daughter breakfast

-with my best friends

-following my own daily schedule

-GROWING MY BUSINESS!

          Intrigued? As a Beachbody coach, I set my own hours, I work with who I want to, I am PRESENT for my daughter, I am growing personally, I keep myself accountable for my own fitness, I earn a paycheck, and I partner with other people who want to do the same!

          We paid for our hotel stay from our recent road trip entirely from my coaching income without having to sweat it coming from my husband's teaching salary! But you know what? In the past, we haven't been able to take road trips or vacations without my parents...because they paid for everything for us. Like...we didn't even have extra money to leave a tip on the dinner out that they would buy. Granted, I love my parents and I love being spoiled by them and they love spoiling us (my mom's love language is most definitely gifts)...but as a 29 year old I want to be able to pay for things myself and have that pride of doing things for my daughter without having to always say "Grandma bought us that."

          Before we had Addison, I would pick a reservation at the CHEAPEST place I could find when Corey and I had to travel. I have nothing against hotels that at least have clean sheets and warm rooms for $70 a night, but with a 3 year old I want something a little bigger, more amenities, and things that make traveling less stressful. I discovered the Drury Inn in Kansas City. They include *everything* in their stay! 2 hot meals a day (really good ones), popcorn and pop in the lobby, wifi, parking, fitness center, and they are walking distance to Kauffman Stadium which is where we went for our recent trip. You can't find that in a hotel for $70 a night! You do pay for those premium perks, though. Before Beachbody I would have never even dreamed of  spending over $100 a night for a hotel, or staying more than 1 night in a row! But thanks to a couple hours of dedicated time daily building my business over the last year, I've been able to enjoy the fruits of my labor. We are still in debt for student loans and on a tight budget, but having a bit of breathing room for fun stuff like this makes all the difference in the world. And I know that I will continue moving up from here.

I have been so blessed by the coaching opportunity and if you're not on board, you need to be! Please reach out to me and share with others if this post resonated with you or if you know someone who could benefit from this opportunity.

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

My first Color Dash: Having my MIND tell my BODY to keep going!

          A 5k is what started my entire fitness journey. I believe I mentioned this in my very first post, but my sister in law got me to sign up in late 2013 for a summer 2014 Warrior Dash and I started from NOTHING and in 7 months lost weight, got fit, overhauled my nutrition, and ran 2 Warrior Dash obstacle 5k races in July and August 2014. My goal when I signed up for those races and started training was to prove my husband wrong. He didn't think I could do the obstacles or run/finish the race. What better incentive to work hard and kick butt?! Fast forward to July 2015, and I decided to try a Color Dash and made it my personal goal to RUN the entire thing. I may run slow, but I didn't want to walk. I start out every day with Shakeology, so why wouldn't I also on a race day?

 





 

          There were so many people there!! It was a bottleneck at the beginning and when I started jogging it took forever to get past the big crowd. During the first kilometer my knees and body were a little sore getting into form because I do not normally run for exercise. It was a nice course, starting and finishing at the Bedell Family YMCA in Spirit Lake, Iowa. I learned that half of the race proceeds went back to my community- what a great cause!! There were a lot of families and kids. I think maybe next year I'll bring Corey and Addison along, but it was really nice to just be alone with my thoughts and run.

 

          I did walk through the color stations so I could get good coverage on my shirt. Unfortunately, even though I did the recommended vinegar soak beforehand, all of my colors washed out!! :( I took a sip at the water station but I find that as long as I have gum in my mouth when I run, I don't get dry mouth. I finished the race in around 30 minutes. My 2 timers were off because I began behind the official race start line. The time wasn't super important, although I will aim for improvement next time. The big thing was that I ran, had a good time, and pushed through when I was getting tired at the end. Your body can do so much MORE than what your mind tells you it can.

 

 

Have you ran any races before? Are you competitive with the clock, another person, or just yourself? If you'd like to be a part of the Beachbody family that has been so instrumental in my success, comment below or click the "contact me" tab above!



How I took back my health and joined my daughter on the playground

Playgrounds are supposed to be fun, but I used to see them as punishment. Why, you ask?
I had a bit of an a-ha moment at the playground today with Addison and needed to take a quick video. Please watch and share if you think this would resonate with anyone else in your life.

 

Living a life of "action" vs "inaction"

*Please watch** This is from my heart.

A passage from Daniel Levitin's The Organized Mind really struck me today. 3 ingrained psychological principles lead humans toward INACTION in a group. 

1. The desire to conform

2. Social comparison

3. Diffusion of responsibility

This was my life before becoming a Beachbody coach. In the last year and a half, I've learned how to be healthy, found an inner confidence to be myself and to not care what the group is doing or thinking, and to take responsibility for myself and also for teaching others to do the same. 

For a free sneak peek at what it is I do as a coach, comment below and I'll get you added to the group!