Freedom comes in many forms

What do you see in this picture that could possibly have to do with freedom?

 I see a freshly cut lawn that I was able to do myself, without needing Corey to start the mower for me. Last year, I could not do that. Doing Les Mills Pump has made me ‪#‎stronger‬, a "non-scale victory" impacting my daily life. Now I have the ‪#‎freedom‬ to surprise my husband with a mowed lawn when he gets home.
Thursday is ‪#‎payday‬ for Beachbody coaches. I am having my best month yet as a coach. I'm not saying this to brag AT ALL on myself, but rather this amazing ‪#‎opportunity‬ I joined. Now I also have the freedom to contribute to my family's bills, and just maybe surprise my husband with an awesome present when he graduates with his Master's degree on May 9th.
What freedoms can joining my team give you??

Sharing more than my highlight reel: getting real with you all

You all have seen my progress pics, sweaty post-workout selfies, or action pics. Earlier this week I posted how I've lost 40 pounds in the last 16 months from Shakeology and Beachbody programs like the 21 Day Fix, PiYo, T25, and Les Mills Pump. The stats and posed shots look great, but I still suffer from times of frustration because I still do not look "perfect" or how I'd like to be. You see, I've NEVER had abs, and I've had stretch marks since junior high when I gained a lot of weight but didn't hit a vertical growth spurt until a couple years later. My core has tightened a LOT in the last 16 months, but there is still a lot of excess skin on top that I'm working on, and those stretch marks don't show any sign of leaving. But you know what? I don't want to just post my "highlight reel"- I want to actually BE REAL with you. Throughout this journey I have come to love my body and the miracle of carrying a baby for 9 months and nursing for 36 months (and counting). I might never have a completely taut tummy. But I never want my daughter to think that her outward appearance is what defines her. So I'm showing you my "flab" today to show you that I'm not perfect. Looking perfect is not how I measure my success. It's how I feel on the inside.

 



Beachbody's motto is: decide, commit, succeed. My story started with a decision 1 year ago, I commit and recommit daily to making myself better, and I find little successes along the way. I want my friends, YOU, to find this life changing transformation in their life. All I'm asking for is for you to make that decision and commit to it with me. I'll help you succeed, just like my coach did with me. I would love to help you start this type of inner and outer transformation. Please reach out to me via email, Facebook, or comment below.

The 3 Day Refresh: a safe, fast cleanse to beat a plateau or break frombad habits

Summer 2014

          It's pretty easy to eat clean when there's no outside temptation. My small town has about 0 options for eating out (McDonald's, Subway, Hardee's, DQ, and 3 pizza places) so my husband and I rarely eat out. My hometown, on the other hand, has just about every restaurant you can think of- one of the perks of living in the 'burbs of Chicago...but is it really a perk? I stayed with my parents for 3 weeks in August 2014. I love my husband and am so grateful that he works so hard for me to be a stay at home mom and that he lets me take extended trips to see my family a couple times a year.

          I was doing great at working out while at my parents' house, but I'm only human, and i couldn't resist the temptations of all of my favorite restaurants I never get to eat at where I live. I did have healthy meals at home, and watched my portions when we ate out, but the difference in my diet was making a difference in how I felt. It's really amazing how your body responds to the fuel you put in it. A couple days before I was due to end my trip was my 10 year high school reunion. I can't believe I've been out of high school for 10 years already! It doesn't feel like that long because I've focused on smaller chunks of time: 4 years of college, 2 years of grad school, and now 4 years living in Iowa. But I digress.

          I wanted to look my best for my reunion, but I also wanted to refresh my system and break away from eating out before I went back to Iowa. Beachbody came out with the 3 Day Refresh to serve a few purposes: a clean break from bad habits, a jumpstart to weight loss, or to break a plateau. I was most interested because it was a "cleanse" but you still got to eat real food! Since it only lasts for 3 days, I figured it would be easy to stick too as well. Each day on the 3 Day Refresh you drink 2 Vanilla Fresh protein shakes, 1 Fiber Sweep shake, 1 Shakeology, as well as several snacks and small meals of real food from an approved list/recipes.

          Many people, myself included, have done a 3 day "Shakeology cleanse", but Shakeology wasn't meant to be used as a sole means of nutrition. The Vanilla Fresh has extra protein and nutrients, and tastes much like vanilla Shakeology. The Fiber Sweep must be drunk quickly or it gets chunky/thick because of the fiber. I drank it quickly and found it tasted like lemon and only had some slight gas and an extra bathroom trip right away on day 1. I was very pleasantly surprised about that because when you think "cleanse" and hear "fiber sweep" you might think you'll be on the toilet the whole time and feel terrible. I found this to not be the case!

          Because I am very picky and do not like most vegetables, I did not follow the eating plan- I didn't cheat, but instead actually didn't eat all of what I was allowed! I recommend following the meal plan correctly, BUT I did not have any issues with low blood sugar, feeling weak, jittery, or lacking energy. (I do suffer from hypoglycemia so I was definitely on the lookout for symptoms of that with the low calorie intake of these 3 days.) On the contrary, I felt so energized and literally refreshed on the 3 Day Refresh! The recommendation is for light activity or to take a break from your usual workouts- again, because of the low daily calorie intake (just under 1,000), but I didn't quite follow that either. These are MY experiences, but I will tell you to stick to the program as it is laid out! I did PiYo 2 of the days but the other I went to a live Body Attack class taught by a friend. I took a break near the end, but I had the stamina for an hour-long intense cardio workout while doing the Refresh. I had SO MUCH energy, but not the crazy jittery caffeine kind: the kind you get from putting amazing fuel in your body!

          I could not have had a more positive experience with the 3 Day Refresh. I also lost 4 pounds and 1.25"...all in 3 days!! Belly bloat be gone, and just in time for my reunion. 💟 I will definitely be doing the 3 Day Refresh again as a quarterly or bi-annual thing, or after my next long stay with my parents. 

What is PiYo?

Summer 2014:

          After 3 rounds of the 21 Day Fix I was looking for something new to try and the buzz around PiYo was huge. The Pilates Fix workout is one of my favorites from the 21 Day Fix so I wanted to see what Chalene Johnson had cooked up in her brand new program that was inspired by pilates and yoga. I decided to give it a whirl and FELL IN LOVE. No jumping or impacts, no weight or equipment, and no holding stiff poses like regular yoga and pilates.

          The workouts range from 20-50 minutes and get your heart rate right into that medium fat burning, sweaty range without leaving you out of breath (except for those power sections!) I should add that around this time I also bought a Garmin Vivofit band and heart rate monitor so I was able to see my heart rate and calorie burn for each workout.

          It's hard to explain, but your muscles get so warm from these workouts, it's the energized high from a good workout while also being incredibly relaxing because it's pilates and yoga. I think that's why I love it so much. The program calendar felt a bit long to me at 8 weeks but I think that is because I got spoiled by the short calendar of the 21 Day Fix.

          I was totally floored by my results from PiYo. It just shaved inches off of my trouble areas! All but 1.5" I lost were from my hips and thighs- but don't let that fool you into thinking I didn't see results in my upper body. I saw increased muscle definition all over and for the first time really saw biceps start to come out. Those tricep push-ups are no joke! Don't be fooled into thinking you need anything more than your body weight to sculpt your body!

          Another thing it did was really help get rid of my back pain. I've always suffered from sciatic pain and working out started to help that, but the increased flexibility and low impact of PiYo really diminished my pain and strengthened the supporting muscles for my back. I seriously cannot say enough positive things about PiYo. I think it's my soulmate workout program!

21 Day Fix

Spring 2014

          The 21 Day Fix changed my life- and I'm not exaggerating at all! I've always struggled with portions and not knowing how much was the "right" amount to eat. I sort of knew what was and wasn't healthy, but didn't know where to start. I wanted to make a change and needed structure, but nothing too drastic that had too many "off limits" foods- I am picky and NOT a fan of vegetables. I'm so grateful to my coach Toni for introducing me to the 21 Day Fix!

          The 21 Day Fix made healthy eating so easy- there were lists of foods for each container and I found many things on each list that I already ate or was willing to try. And it's not so restrictive- there's "cheats" allowed too.  My husband and I enjoyed learning how to plan our meals (check out my coach's post on post-it meal planning here: http://tonihatinger.blogspot.com/2014/04/my-21-day-fix-meal-planning-made-easy.html?m=1) and found that the plan allowed us so much food- we definitely were not starving! But we were losing weight and inches super fast.

          The 30 minute workouts were really challenging, but with each move only lasting a minute, we pushed through. My husband works full time and we worked out together before bed- our 2 year old daughter loved joining in too!
 

          I loved that there was a different focus every day (legs, arms, cardio, pilates, cardio with weights, dirty 30, and yoga) so you weren't overworking the same muscle groups day after day. 

          Seeing immediate results was so gratifying and once our bodies got used to the right portions and eating clean, we were no longer craving junk food or processed stuff. Shakeology was a big reason for those decreased cravings too. Our deep fryer is now collecting dust- haha. Since the program is only 21 days long, it's so easy to stick with and stay committed. Over the last year, the portion control containers and meal planning has become our new lifestyle.

          We continued with 3 rounds of the 21 Day Fix before moving on to another program.
 

The start of my journey...winter 2013

          My name is Kristen. I am a 29 year old stay at home mom to an almost 3 year old daughter. My husband is a PE/Health teacher for elementary and high school aged kids and coaches several sports. We live in rural northwest Iowa. We also have 2 fur-babies: a maltese/Shih-Tzu and a German Shorthair pointer.

          I kept a diary from 6th grade until I had a baby in 2012. It started out on paper, then went online in high school and from daily entries to monthly catch-up posts. Since my daughter was born, I haven't updated that but keep a calendar/diary of sorts for her. I started this blog to chronicle my health and fitness journey and to reach out to other people who are in the same boat I am, or are wanting to follow in my footsteps. :) I figure to start out, I'll tell you where my transformation began:
          I played soccer my whole life and in college and going from that to nothing in grad school really affected my fitness level and weight. In 2010, my OB-GYN told me I needed to lose 40 pounds before getting pregnant and that my weight could affect my fertility. I think I technically had an "obese" bmi: there's not much wiggle room when you are only 5 feet tall! Thankfully I got pregnant right away and ended up leaving the hospital with my newborn (April 2012) at the exact same weight I was when I got pregnant!!

          Breastfeeding for 2 years helped me lose about 10 pounds but I wanted to lose more and get fit to keep up with my daughter and just live a more healthy lifestyle!! My sister in law had gotten into those fun Warrior/Color 5k races the last couple years and she talked me into doing one so I started workout out diligently in December 2013 to get ready for my July 2014 race. I work best when I have a goal and a deadline in front of me. I lost about 5 pounds in 3 months and then started drinking this amazing thing called Shakeology. I figured if it gave my best friend the energy to keep up with 3 little ones under the age of 5, I needed to try it out! Adding Shakeology to my fitness video helped me lose 5 more pounds in half the time.

          Then in April 2014 my husband and I started the 21 Day Fix fitness program from Beachbody in addition to drinking Shakeology every day. The weight started falling off immediately and we've never looked back! I've now lost about 40 pounds and my husband has lost 30. We are healthier and happier and love supporting others who want to make the same changes in their lives that we did.
          I think I'll be posting flashbacks of our transformation on Tuesdays so you can see how we got to where we are, as well as other posts about healthy living. Welcome to my blog and I hope you enjoy a glimpse into my life!