Healthy Holiday Bootcamp- starting November 14th!!

Hey everybody!

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 never thought this would be my life

            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"

Aching for something more...

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!

What is 22 Minute Hard Corps?

I always get really excited when i get a new workout program and stuff to go through in the mail so I thought it would be fun to go through the next workout program that Corey and I are going to be doing together and show you what's all included.

This is a brand new program from Tony Horton- it's called 22 Minute Hard Corps which means that every day's workout is only 22 minutes long. Beachbody has 30 minute workouts for 21 Day Fix; T25 is 25 minutes; 10 Minute Trainer from way back is 10 minutes a day, and now there's 22 Minute Hard Corps. It's based on military-style physical training. The first disc has be 3 cardio workouts and 2 core workouts, and a cold start workout if you need more time to warm up. Disc 2 has 3 Resistance workouts, the cold start, and a bonus workout from P90X3.

In the side folder there is a quick start and it gives you a letter from Tony, it tells you how to calculate your calories or your containers, the calendar (eight weeks with an optional final week). There are 6 workouts a week and you get Sunday off to meal prep. The final "Hell Week" challenge has 2-3 workouts a day. On the back of the calendar it shows all of the members of the military that were in the workouts for this program. Tony Horton has trained military members and goes to military bases all the time.

When you finish you send in your results you get a free challenge coin. I think you can collect coins from different military bases i think that's the basis of it doing that for this program instead of a free t-shirt.

22 Minute Hard Corps uses the portion control containers, so the meal planning booklet "Rations for Results" will show you how to figure out your containers for the day, the food lists, and 22 meal ideas. There is also an herb and spice compatibility index so it shows you all sorts of spices and tells you what food that pairs well with it. So if you are a big cinnamon fan for instance, it says you can have cinnamon with carrots, pumpkin, squash, sweet potatoes, apples, bananas, cranberries, pears, nuts, bread, chicken, and lamb. That is very cool. 

The green container is for your veggies; purple for fruit; red for protein; yellow for carbs; blue for healthy fats and cheese; orange for seeds and dressings; teaspoons for oils and nut butters. They are dishwasher safe, microwave safe, and BPA-free.

Corey and I just started this program July 4th. I am really excited to see where this program takes us being super time limited this summer. Who doesn't have a super jam-packed summer schedule?! This would be so easy to fit into your day.

A friend of mine just posted her results and she lost eight pounds and seven inches in her eight weeks!

OH, and there is also a bonus work out if you order through a coach like me- otherwise you'd have to pay $20! It's called the Battle Buddy workout. I also bought the deluxe set of workouts for 22 Minute Hard Corps- Special Ops Cardio, Core, and Resistance- 3 different workouts that all use the neat PT sandbag from Beachbody.

Watch Addie and I unpack everything in this video to get a visual, as well as her side commentary. ;) 

4 years into my nursing journey...

I never knew how long I would nurse Addison for, but I knew I wanted to go for 2 years and let her wean on her own terms. I never imagined we'd still be nursing at 4 years, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I know the end is in sight, as there are nights she doesn't want to and just wants to be rocked, or mornings she springs into action instead of wanting to cuddle.

I loved seeing the pictures and reading the stories at this site: http://thehonestbodyproject.com/?p=859

2 years into my health, fitness, and weight loss journey with Beachbody

The first year of my fitness journey was AMAZING. I saw results immediately and all year long. My 2nd year was VERY different. If I didn't have the support of my accountability groups and education to give me a new mindset on RESULTS AND HEALTH, I would probably think that not losing any more weight or inches from year 1 to 2 would be a bad thing.
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So many people see results and then QUIT without realizing that health is a journey, not a number on the scale or destination. Then they go back to their old habits and wonder why they gain the weight back. 🤔 If you really want to be healthy, you've got to draw a line in the sand and say "ENOUGH" and never go back. That's what 2015 to 2016 was for me.
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I STILL drink Shakeology daily, I STILL workout at home 5-7 days a week, I STILL use my portion control containers and meal plan and allow for moderation and indulgences, and that's why I am STILL down the same amount of weight and inches as I lost in the first year of my health and fitness journey. I found the secret to lasting results, and that's to LAST- just keep on keeping on!
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If you want to see changes like this and feel the benefits of more energy, better digestion, clearer skin, less cravings, more confidence, more patience, better relationships, then are you ready for a commitment? I will do it WITH you and I WON'T QUIT on you. The deadline to join my June 6th accountability group is fast approaching.
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Who's in? Comment below or message me to get started. 
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If you are reading this after the fact, please contact me via Facebook at www.facebook.com/boeknowscleanliving to see when my next accountability group starts!!

Why I became a Beachbody coach

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.

Did your job give you a raise last year? Mine did!

          I did some number crunching today and my jaw dropped. My 2015 Beachbody income was 3 TIMES what I made in 2014!! Can you say that about your 40+ hour a week job? This is the type of job where the sky is the limit. Nothing is guaranteed, but if you work hard you will be rewarded! I took part in several trainings, applied what I learned, and have a daily "Power Hour" of items where once I am done, I can shut my computer lid if need be and spend the rest of the day with my daughter. I never thought that the 2.5 hours twice a week that Addison is in preschool would be such a blessing but it has made a huge difference in my business and I am usually able to squeeze the most important things for my business into those mornings.

          Some months this income paid for gas and groceries, some months it paid for a splurge of a gift, this summer it paid for our trip to Kansas City, and other months it provides much needed savings for our emergency fund/debts. Every month, though, it paid for our Shakeology and then some. Which is more than enough for us!!

          How am I able to accomplish this without letting the tv raise Addie and the house fall into disarray? I don't need to work full time hours to create an income as a Beachbody coach. In fact, I joined as a coach simply to get a discount on Shakeology and to hold myself accountable to MY OWN fitness journey. I share that with you, and invite you to join me.

          To learn more about what it takes to be a Beachbody coach, please like/comment/message me because my team is hosting a free sneak peek this week that will answer all of your questions. Now is the perfect time to take control of your own health and fitness and to earn money while you're at it! 

          To keep Corporate happy: "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."

2016 is here: Time to take action!

2016 is here. Are you going to keep waiting for life to happen to you, or are you ready to take action?

I read the book “The Organized Mind” by Daniel Levitin and a specific passage really spoke to me about three principles that lead us toward INACTION in a large social group that are ingrained into our psyche. First is the desire to conform. We are driven by the need for acceptance. We want to be seen as agreeable so that we can blend into the group. The second is social comparison. We compare our actions in terms of other people's actions and want to make sure that we're seen as similar. The third one is the diffusion of responsibility. Let’s say for example that you're the only person that witnesses an emergency. You are definitely going to take action and help out, right? But if there's a bunch of people there, the responsibility is spread out and everyone is waiting for someone else to take the first step to do something about it.

That used to be me: I sat around waiting for things to happen to me. I did the bare minimum and wondered why nothing was getting better. When I was approached by my friend about being a Beachbody coach, I thought: I don't know what it means to be a coach; I don’t have a “beach body”; I’m not healthy, why would anyone look to me for help or as an example?

But over the last 2 years, I have learned how to live a healthy lifestyle. I still have insecurities- who doesn’t?! But I will rock a bikini when I’m at the pool with my daughter and I don’t care what anyone thinks. Now I have an inner confidence to be myself and to not care what the group is doing, thinking, or saying. I no longer have a desire to conform. As far as the diffusion of responsibility goes, I’ve realized that I have a responsibility to teach my daughter what it means to be healthy and strong and confident. No one else is going to do that for me.

I am no longer living a life of inaction. I’ve learned about confidence and the tools to be healthy. Now I teach them to other people and inspire them to make changes in their lives and families. If you think the you would like to be captain of your own ship instead of waiting for someone to take the steering wheel for you, then I would love to have you join my team or accountability group. Please leave a comment or contact me on Facebook at www.facebook.com/boeknowscleanliving  

Common Objections to Becoming a Beachbody Coach or Purchasing a Challenge Pack

Common Objections to Becoming a Beachbody Coach or Purchasing a Challenge Pack

I'm here to talk to you a little bit about Beachbody coaching and objections. Everybody has an objection- trust me; I've heard them all because I had them too! My friend worked on me for quite a while before getting me to sign up, and I wanted to share with you some of the objections I had before signing up because I hear them all the time now as a coach when I approach other people. Getting objections from other people is frustrating and to be honest, it kind of breaks my heart because I had them and I broke through them; I had faith in my friend that she would not be steering me wrong and I'm so glad that I listened to her because my life has changed in so many ways once I finally put the objections and the excuses aside and took a chance on myself to not only change my fitness but also financial future by becoming a coach.

I’ll get to specific objections to being an “active” coach later, but first I want to talk about what people say to getting a challenge pack or sale bundle. One of the top objections I hear all the time is “I don't have the money” Oh my goodness, I totally felt that way too! I'm a stay-at-home mom, my husband is a schoolteacher and we are paying off 2 sets of private college tuition: it is tough! I did not think that we had the money either at first. Fortunately, my husband and I work from a budget so we saw on paper what our income was and we kept track of what we were spending every month and we decided to prioritize our health and instead of paying money to go to the doctor, we decided to try to prevent some sickness. If we took away one or two times of going out to eat for a month, or some of the extra things that we were spending money on that we really didn't need to be buying, we could we could swap those out for Shakeology and a challenge pack. I really don't miss all that extra stuff but we have felt the benefits of Shakeology and it's been a year and half of drinking it every single day. I would not spend that money every single month if I didn't feel the health benefits and know that it is worth it, because trust me, I could totally be using that $100+ a month to get ahead on our loans, or go out to eat a couple more times in a month, and just enjoy other things like to the movies. But I'm so glad that I'm healthy and I think that you'd find that too, but you've got to take that chance for yourself.

If you are not sure that you want to sign up and it's a lot of money to put on the line, guess what? You can try the program, you can drink the entire bag of shakes and if you're not happy with the results you got or how you feel, you can get your money back even after you drink them! Now that is a money back guarantee one hundred-percent; there's really nothing to lose at that point when you know that you can drink them and still get your money back if you're not happy. That's how much faith that Beachbody has in the products that they put out.

Another thing: maybe it might take a couple months of saving to get yourself signed up- that is fine! Maybe you can sell a few things- my husband and I sell stuff on Facebook and eBay all the time to make room for our fun purchases. Or maybe you can say “Let's invest in ourselves this year for Christmas. Let's not get each other gifts, let's get each other a challenge pack.” It'll be a gift that lasts a lot longer.

If you still can’t swing it to continue Shakeology monthly even after looking at your budget or selling things- I totally understand! You could drink half a shake a day (your bag will then last 2 months) or split a serving with your spouse every day. You're still going to get those extra nutrients; maybe not a full dose but it's still going to make a difference in your day. We drink half a shake a day too: you my husband and I are not at the point where we can afford two bags a month but we've still seen changes in our health and our lives just from drinking half a shake a day. What I’m trying to say is that if you make your health a priority, then you'll find a way to make it work.

Now, onto some things people think about becoming a coach and why they wouldn’t be able to do it or be good at it. People always say: “I don't have the time” and I did not think that I had the time either. Even as a stay-at-home mom I was busy doing other things, but how much time do you spend watching TV a day? I know most people now have a DVR, so what you can do is DVR your favorite show ahead of time and then fast forward through the commercials. Your hour-long show just turned into 40 minutes and you now have time to fit in that half an hour workout, especially if you watch more than one show a night! Half an hour is such a small percentage of your day, but it's going to give you so much more energy and it’s going to make you feel so much better.

Another thing I hear a lot is “I don't have the time to be a coach.” Well, you can dedicate as much time or as little time as you want into being a coach, especially for those Beachbody coaches that work full-time and have family events too. That is not my situation since I'm stay-at-home mom, so I have a little more time during the day to reach out to people. The most successful coaches use something called a “Power Hour” and that is where you set your focus for one hour to do the things for your business like inviting people everyday and spending time catching up with people. Let’s be honest: everyone scrolls on Facebook!! I scroll on Facebook; you use Facebook during your lunch hour; you log on after you get home from work or before bed. Why not take that time scrolling on Facebook and instead of just mindless scrolling, focus on connecting with people and having conversations. It's not posting sales on your wall and selling to people all the time. It's just building relationships and with that, an opportunity to present Beachbody to them should come about naturally in your conversation. If you're posting about what you're doing for your health and fitness to your wall daily, people are going to see it and they might ask you about it or a chance for you to you invite them to your accountability group or to the coaching opportunity might come about naturally as you are talking.

Another excuse I had before signing up as a coach was that being a coach scared me! I was not at my goal weight or body; I was not a picture of health. I thought, “I'm not perfect. No one is going to want to look at me as an example to follow.”  But honestly what I’ve found is that is the opposite! Almost every day I get a message saying “the fact that you're posting every day about your workout inspires me.” Perfection does not inspire people- it doesn't! When you see those “perfect” people in the magazines or on TV, that doesn't really inspire you. It almost makes you feel bad about yourself because you're not that perfect.

Guess what? I have stretch marks and I still have areas on my body I'm not happy with or would like to change but I work out everyday, I share my struggles, and the fact that I'm not feeling it someday and don't want to work out but I choose to press play and I choose to post about it, that's all I'm doing! As a coach, I’m trying to show people that I take that one extra step of SHARING and that is what gives other people motivation to try and what inspires them. A sales pitch or an advertisement does not inspire people; being relatable and being honest is what it takes to be a coach.

Still another objection I had is “What will people think of me?” I didn't really want to put myself out there. I got to the point where holding back/not sharing as much or being honest in my posts was affecting my relationships. So many of our relationships now are cultivated through social media because we do not live close to a lot of our friends and family. My best friend lives in Wisconsin so obviously I don't see her very often at all but I share on social media with her and I message her daily, so if I wasn't being truthful in what I posted online our friendship wouldn't be real. I got to a point where I stopped caring what other people thought about me because I can't control what anyone thinks about me; all I can control is myself and my reactions to people. If they don't like what I post, then they are free to unfriend me, unfollow me, block me, whatever. I don't need their negative energy bringing me down anyways! I'm going to share who I am and if you like that, that's awesome and you are the kind of person that I want in my life being friends with me. I got past being embarrassed and being scared or knowing what to post as a coach. I just post who I am and the people who identify with that are the people that I’m going to want to partner with me in accountability groups and to be on my team as coaches. You’ve heard of the idea that “like attracts like”: you put out there who you are and the people that want to follow you will follow you!

Those are a lot of hesitations that I had before I started as a coach and now that I'm on the other side, I wanted to tell you that you're not the only person with objections: I get messages with them all the time. Those are just my experience having overcome those objections and I hope this has helped you realized that you don't have to be perfect and you don't have to know everything. We have trainings available and however you much time and energy you want to devote to this business to creating financial freedom for your family, or just saving $20something a month on your Shakeology and working on yourself and you may be referring a friend once in awhile that's totally fine! Being a coach on whatever level you choose is fine with me. I hope this post helps with some of the objections you may be having right now and if you have any questions, please let me know!