Team Beach Body Saved Me...Seriously

So you have my why and my before pictures. So what exactly am I doing? I get this question a LOT. I am doing Team Beach Body, mostly known for their crazy programs like Insanity and P90X. They are sooooo much more, I can't even begin to express how they have saved my life, I get teary eyed thinking about it. What makes it so different? Many many things. The most important thing, as least for me, is that it taught me how to eat, what to eat, and that I am NOT alone in this journey. Exercise is something I always loathed, so I wasn't motivated by that at first, and some days are harder to push play than others. So, what is Team Beach Body? It is a health and wellness lifestyle, that incorporates clean eating, a meal replacement shake called Shakeology which in itself is AMAZING and then the workouts and there are soooo many!!! The other great thing about Beach Body is the amazing support system, which I will post about later. Today I want to talk about Exercise, my least favorite thing in the world. Currently my program is T25. It is taught by Shaun T and is a 10 week exercise program (Shaun T is the insanity guy...). It has two programs, Alpha and Beta. Alpha is your foundation and Beta kicks your butt (or so I've heard, I'm on my first week!). The workouts are by no means easy, but you have a person who modifies it and is low impact if you need it (and let me tell you, I've needed Tonya on MANY occasions). The focus of my program is on my core, which for me is where alllll my weight is located. It is 30 minutes long (25 for exercise, about 5 for stretching) and on Fridays we do two! There is a set of 10 discs (5 for Alpha and 5 for Beta) and each disc works different areas, much like they do with personal training and each week the workout schedule changes. You get this cool calendar (see below) that you can track and see your workouts! Abs and Total Body Circuit are my least favorite, Core Speed is my Favorite so far and Cardio is a close second. They give you everything you need when you get the challenge pack, and the discs are yours forever! My pack included resistance bands, my calendar, a 5 day meal plan, and a quickstart guide. Awesome right? You also then get invited to this thing called a Challenege Group, through Facebook (this ties into support, will touch on later). I've learned to love squats, but I want a butt and that inner thigh muscle I see all these hardcore fitness junkies with and squats are the key to that! I have to say since I started this program, I look forward to doing my exercise program pretty much every day and if I have to miss a day, I miss doing it. This is HUGE for me, since I am not someone who gets those endorphins from working out, to me it is a job I don't like, but show up because the results have been awesome! I do get sore, I do get tired (Fridays especially, they wipe me out), but when you see the results and see it working, it gets easier. Last week for instance, I wasn't getting enough water and my body wasn't working out as hard. I kept yelling at myself because I knew I could do the workouts but my body was fighting me! Obviously, I figured out that my water intake must be there, as my body depends on it for strength and it can mess everything up! Needless to say I am killing my water intake now, cause I want the next 5 weeks to be amazing! My big reveal will be on my 30th birthday and I want it to really show!! So how has it effected my health? I never ever have to use my inhaler, seriously. I take my control medications (Symbicort and Singulair), but I haven't had to use my puffer since I started! It feels great to up steps and not get winded, or run/walk a mile or bike ride 4 miles and know that I won't be out of breath. I've also cut down my Symbicort from twice a day to once a day! You will have to wait until I post my 30 day stats to find out how it's affect my weight, clothes and inches. Sucks, doesn't it? Haha!!! I will post about Shakeology (or Shakeo as we fitties call it) and clean eating in another post. I encourage anyone interested in the exercise programs that Beach Body offers to contact me, and I will send you a list or talk with you on what type of workout you are looking for. Here is my calendar (I've marked off my workouts, as you can see I finished all of Alpha!)

Here we go...again..oh wait...

So as many of you know, and you can tell from this Blog, I have tried several times to lose weight. I wanted to update you all on what is currently going on in my weight loss/life journey. I am now an active coach for Team Beach Body, and I am in LOVE with this program. I will get into the program a bit later on, but first I want to talk about where I am in life and most importantly, my why. So why now, why this time? What changed? All great questions. First off, I am turning 30 August 1st and this has probably been the biggest wake up call for me. I met a great guy that I fell madly in love with, and the only thing I could think about was spending my life with him and could potentially have met my soulmate. So about a year into our relationship, I decided that I wanted to get healthy, so that one day I could have a baby and be a healthy, active mom. So I went to the doctor to discuss my health. As most of you know I have several health problems, the main ones being Asthma, Depression, Hypothyroidism and Type 2 Diabetes. I met with a different doctor than I usually do and come to find out, my health is declining and at a quicker pace then expected. At that point I weighed 279 pounds, and the doctor told me I needed to lose 10% of my body fat (27 pounds) before she would even consider talking about babies and anything else. So at that point, I decided I needed to change me. No more excuses, no more letting others influence me, it was time to take this Diabetes serious. Unfortunately, my relationship ended (all good on that front, we are still friends and involved in each others lives) but instead of turning to food, I turned to health and exercise. I began walking, and watching what I was eating for about a month. Then I got in touch with my friend Amanda who also has health issues and was about the same weight, and she told me about this program she was going to do. At first I was a little skeptical, because it was expensive to sign up, but then I saw what she was doing and what it taught her, so I had to give it a try. I am currently in my 5th week of the program and I feel amazing! Here is my starting before picture. I will post my after picture in another entry. Team Beach Body baby! #beachbody