Be Someone Special

Who's seen Kung Fu Panda? Do you know the part where Po's father tells him there is no secret sauce to his noodle recipe? He says, "To make something special you just have to believe it's special!" Po realizes his self worth and returns to defeat Tai Lung (something he, himself, and everyone else never believed he could do).

Every single one of us has the power to do amazing things if we just believe in ourselves. Sometimes we just need a little push in the right direction and a little help to harness the power. I was this way until I found Team Beachbody and became a coach two months after starting my first program, Focus T25, and Shakeology.

Beachbody didn't just teach me how to get fit or try and sell something. That isn't what it's about. It's about helping people. Helping you to harness that power within and then use it for good to help others. It's not about losing weight. It's about gaining a healthy lifestyle and the knowledge needed to help you and your family live a long, healthy life.

Beachbody helped me start working out, eating healthy, understand nutrition and fitness, lose weight, and gain muscle! That is awesome in itself but more importantly it taught me how to believe in myself, use my time more wisely, make personal development a vital part of my day, teach and help others to live a better life in matters of physical and mental health and finances. As a result I am a better wife, mother, and friend with a confidence in myself and my abilities that I've never had before.

Now I get to show people that there is no secret sauce. The power is already within them...they just need to believe they are special! Becoming a Beachbody coach has changed my life for the better. I can't help but share something so amazing and I would not feel right if I didn't pay it forward!

It is am AMAZING feeling to be a part of something bigger than yourself...to give to others and find yourself growing and improving as well! Join my team and you can find the same thing! Fill out the application here for the opportunity to be considered for joining my coach apprenticeship program!

Why I Love Shakeology: Reason #3,296

There are quite a few reasons why I love Shakeology and I could go on all day about them! I'm passionate about it because it has changed my life and I have seen it change the lives of countless others!

Shakeology is widely known to help with weight loss and yes, it helped me lose weight but more than that it helped me with my health. It is not just a weight loss shake...it is a health shake! With over 70 super foods in the formula it is designed to fuel your body with the best nutrition in a natural, safe way without all the fillers and nasty chemicals other protein shakes or weight loss shakes contain. There is just nothing else like it on the market and it's clinically proven to help you lose weight, reduce blood sugar levels, and reduce cholesterol.

It's AMAZING the things that happen when your body starts getting the nutrients it actually craves. Part of the reason we are so overweight in this society is that we don't understand the difference between fullness on a volumetric level vs. a cellular level. We keep feeding our bodies because it never gets what it actually needs. With Shakeology, your body gets a daily dose of dense nutrition that it is impossible to get in a day otherwise and you are feeding your body the stuff it actually needs. Your cravings subside because the body realizes it's full of what it needed.

My Personal Tranformation

Besides that, there are a million more benefits including reducing blood sugar levels, increasing energy, reducing cholesterol, reducing blood pressure, improving digestion, balancing out hormone levels, and so many more. It has changed the lives of people with Chron's disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, Depression, Constipation, and so many more frustratingly debilitating illnesses.

Today I want to talk about Migraines and headaches. I don't think I've shared too much that I use to get a headache every day! Some days they were debilitating and turned into migraines. I couldn't focus and I was not able to function well. I'm lucky I've never had chronic migraines, but chronic headaches, I had them! I was taking ibuprofen ALL THE TIME and we all know what that will do to your liver and more! It was not one of the initial reasons I started drinking Shakeology but after a while I noticed  those daily headaches went away! I can say now that the only reason I get headaches now is if I am dehydrated or I need an adjustment from the chiropractor from issues due to previous back injuries.

Lindsey, another coach on the great team I am a part of struggled with chronic migraines. She said:

Not to mention she's had an awesome tranformation!

"I can't remember a time when I haven't struggled with migraines. I have gone to the hospital, been in bed for days, thrown up, literally not been able to stand up, etc. I have been this way for YEARS. I finally went to a doctor over a year and a half ago and was put on a daily Verapamil. I would also take Imitrex on the days that I did get a migraine. 

The insurance company only allows 9 Imitrex per month though. Every month I would max them out and I would have taken all of them before the month was up. Since taking Shakeology, I have never taken all 9. I ONLY have a migraine when I don't get a good night sleep. I no longer have unexplainable, random migraines. For me, this is ONE of the many benefits I have had from Shakeology. I can't imagine not drinking it daily. It literally has changed my life."

Tracey, another coach on my team said:

 "I have not popped on single tablet for migraines, headaches, or insomnia since I started the shake in March!" 

There is a reason I drink my Shakeology every day and there is a reason Lindsey, Tracey, and so many others do as well. IT WORKS! I wasn't fully convinced until I decided to try it myself for 30 days and get my money back if it didn't work. I didn't get my money back...IT WORKED and now I make sure it's a daily part of the nutrition I put into my body because I know it needs it. If you knew the difference it made you wouldn't miss a day either!

Do you want to try Shakeology? Why not? There is a 30 day money back guarantee even if you drink all of it! And, if you don't want to commit to 30 days yet let me know and I can send you some individual one-serving packets to get you started! What do you have to lose besides maybe those migraines and/or headaches? You might just save some money as well when you don't have to pay for all your medications and doctor's visits! Lindsey is saving money!

PiYo: Days 1-2

I decided to start PiYo yesterday on a Tuesday but just double up on today's workouts to catch up. It worked better for me to start on the first of the month so I did. I love that I can start on my own time! :-) I have a challenge group starting up on Monday, July 7th so I wanted to be a week ahead so I could experience and know what to expect to help my challengers!

I got my Week 1 Meal Plan all figured out and I'm ready to finish out this week strong! The nutrition plan with Piyo is very similar to the 21 Day Fix without the containers and some of the foods that are allowed in the categories vary but it makes things very simple to follow! After you calculate your calorie intake you are put in a certain tier where you are allowed a certain number of serving from each category.

I am in Tier 1, which allows 1,200-1,399 calories. The thing I love about this program and many of the other nutrition guides with Beachbody program is you don't have to count calories. If you follow the food list and serving guide you should be falling in that calorie range. It's perfect because I LOATHE COUNTING CALORIES! I know I'm not the only one! ;-)

In my tier I am allowed 4 Lean Protein, 4 Primary Vegetables, 3 Healthy Fats, 2 Secondary Vegetables/Grains, and 2 Fresh Fruit.

Here is my Week 1 Meal Plan for a great example on how to balance those categories out:

It's so nice to have these meals all planned out because I can prep them for the whole week and spend hardly any time in the kitchen! Yay! All I need to do is check out what I have planned for that meal and then follow the serving size in the book and go for it!

Day 1 workout, Align: The Fundamentals was a good review to help get oriented to the different moves being used and how to do them correctly!

Day 2 (yesterday), nutrition wise, for me went pretty good but not as well as I had hoped because my day exploded and got busier than I anticipated. I wasn't completely prepared with my meals prepped and so dinner ended up being off and I didn't get all my snacks in. I am committed to getting some of my meals prepped today and following the meal plan today!

Today is double workouts to catch up and this morning I got in Define: Lower Body. I definitely felt things working but I didn't have to jump and run like crazy to get a good workout. Perfect and refreshing! Tonight I am going to be doing Define: Upper Body and I will let you know how that goes tomorrow since it is considered part of Day 3 and I'm only reviewing the first two days right now!

Sorry, I have no music for the video today. It's boring without any but I'll have some going for the next one! :-)

I am really excited for this journey and for my group to start on Monday so we can experience this awesome program and rally together to start it out strong!

My PiYo Journey

It's the morning of July 1st and a Tuesday. I know it's not the start of a new week but it just worked better for me to go ahead and start my PiYo journey today. I will be starting today but doubling up on my workouts on Wednesday to catch up!

What is PiYo? It is an incredible 60 day workout program that you get without beating yourself up. It is the perfect mix of Pilates and Yoga that come together in a fast paced workout to help you get results with low impact training and it comes from one of my favorite Beachbody trainers, Chalene Johnson!

I will be starting this program today with the PiYo nutrition guide and Shakeology to help me along the way! I am excited about starting this program because I have been dealing with a hamstring and wrist injury that have been very frustrating the last few months. They are very close to being healed completely but I still have problems every once in a while. I've heard great things about this program helping to heal your body and be gentle on you while still getting great results. I think this might just end up ranking up there as one of my favorite programs!

Please join me on my journey! I will be posting reviews regularly about both the workouts and nutrition plan and sharing my progress with you, complete with weight, measurements, and pictures! And, if you have any questions or are interested yourself please comment below the post or email me at fitnessempowered87@gmail.com. I'd love to have you join in on my next challenge group!

Okay, I'm off to work on my meal plan! If I were to say I am excited it would be an understatement! :-)