My Fitness Journey--P90X, TurboFire, and Shakeology!

Okay, ladies and gentlemen. People have been asking some questions, because they've noticed something really different about me. Yes, I've lost loads of weight. And I'm not done yet!

 This is a project of mine. A choice I've made to keep myself around a little longer. For the kiddos' sake, among others. And because it's just nice to feel really good. Really, really good!

 In the upcoming week or so, I've plans to post some pics, or even a video of this transformation that began sometime in March of this year. For now, I'll tell you how I'm doing it.

 It all started with this guy, believe it or not...

Yep, P90X. I completed this workout a couple of times. I lost about 20 pounds with Tony Horton and the P90X crew. And as many have said of the workouts, I hate 'em, but I LOVE 'em!

 P90X workouts are fantastic. I've never felt stronger. But still, something was missing. I hadn't changed my lifestyle. I was still eating the same junk and let life sort of get to me. So, any results I got slipped away. It was time to start again, with some modifications. About three or four of them. 

The first and biggest change, my diet! I mean, really big change. One of those changes that you just don't turn your back on. 

 I gave up meat and nearly all dairy! I say "nearly" because, until recently, the diet supplement I've been taking, Chocolate Shakeology, had a bit of it included. And now, they've got a vegan version of it! I look forward to giving it a go very soon. I'll get back to this in just a second, because this stuff has made a tremendous difference in the results I'm getting with my workouts and needs to be mentioned.

 Now, I love P90X and will always have a fondness for it. But, I could feel myself wanting a bit more of a cardio workout. I was getting some bulky muscles and was really wanting a leaner look.

So, the second change I made, was my workout.  And this is it...




 

TurboFire! Love, love, love this! 

 This workout is saving my life, to be sure. I know, it might sound corny, but it's true. Chalene Johnson is such a wonderful motivator. I'm now doing things I never thought I'd be doing at my age, and after having 3 children, all because of her. There's something about what she says that just clicks and makes you push harder. I'm not ashamed to say, she's even made me cry! Inspiring, that woman is.

Alrighty, I guess I'll call this the third thing I changed, though it's really a fantabulous addition to what I've already been doing.  The aforementioned, Chocolate Shakeology!  

As I said before, I gave up meat and most dairy.  My diet consists of veggies and loads of fruit.  Not much bread in there, though a bit on rare occasion.  Sometimes, I'll have nuts or seeds with my salad.  Though I avoid most fat.  Already, this diet makes me feel much better than I have in years.

What Shakeology has done is supply me with tons of nutrients that I might be missing if I don't eat enough fruit and veg.  Which is actually hard to do.  Unless you sit at a salad bar all day!  Or, you could juice your fruit and veg to get lots of nutrients packed into a glass.  Not a bad option, if you've got the time to prepare the juice and the money to buy lots of produce.

Well, I don't have much of either.  Time or money.


That's where Shakeology comes in.  Okay, it appears to cost a pretty penny, if you look at the price per the entire month.  But really, it breaks down to about $3 or $4 dollars a day.  Not bad for something that gives you pretty much everything you need!

Someone pointed out a nutritional data site, that listed Shakeology as being pretty darn healthy, called foodfacts.com  . While I knew the stuff in it was good, I never really knew how it compared to other foods until I looked it up.  Very interesting.  I was sold!

Now, another really cool thing I've noticed about Shakeology is, the weight I've lost while using it, stays off!

There's this 3-day fast you can do using the product that has helped me lose up to 8 pounds in 3 days.  Some people have lost up to 10!  It sounds crazy, but it actually works.  And the best part, the weight stays off.  At least it did for me.  But, now, I didn't go out and eat a pizza after the fast.  I continued with my low fat vegetarian diet and made sure to keep my workouts on track.  This leads me to my next big change.
Change #4, my ATTITUDE!


Yes, this one might be... No, it IS the biggest one of all.


The whole project will fail without the right attitude.  It is a choice.  There's no one else but me to blame for my poor attitude.  I can choose to be positive and do the hard work to better my health, or not.

This time, I've pretty much chosen to do the work.  There are too many good reasons to do it.  And now, it has become a habit, a lifestyle.

Sometimes it helps to just focus thoughts a bit.  Think about how many aspects of life improve when health improves.  It pretty much changes everything.  In a good way, of course.

When I think about how much money I've spent on purchasing P90X, TurboFire and Shakeology, I don't cringe.  Because, I know this was money well spent. An investment in my health, in my life.  And, yeah, this stuff simply works!  I believe in it enough that I decided to become an Independent Beachbody Coach, so I could share what I've learned with other people who are ready for big changes in their lives.

If any of you have questions about what I've mentioned here, drop me an email and I'll get back to you!
 sdchan@beachbodycoach.com

More about this journey, coming soon~~

Where Does the Time Go? and Beachbody Things

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There are ideas for new YouTube videos bouncing around in my head, but the day holds only so many hours. It'll take a while before I get another one made.

It looks like my focus will need to be shifted a bit. It has to do with some goals I made a couple of years ago, I never accomplished. Well, actually, I hadn't realized two years have passed since coming up with the plan. See? Time just zoomed by. Only now have I stopped spinning long enough to remember what it was all about.

One of the goals was fairly simple. Run a 5K. Doesn't everyone want to do that when they turn 40? I did. I was getting ready for it. Then, stuff came up. Thus, the 5K dream never materialized. It was on hold until the next year. The big 4-1. Somehow, it just wasn't the same. My birthday came and went. I barely noticed it. Seriously, it was almost completely forgotten! A dud, as far as birthdays go.

Now, I'm closing in on 42. Funny thing, I feel like I'm already 42, or more. I've this habit of rounding up. In my mind I'm almost 50. No worries, though. I'm enjoying it.

Anyway. The goals.

There were lots of other ones, of course. They fell by the wayside, too. I think this happens a lot to parents. The concern centers around providing for the children, laundry, cleaning things . . . the lawn.

Perhaps, I'm just a poor planner and haven't figured out the secret to fitting everything into the days. That'll be a goal. Be a better planner. Ha! No, really. I should work on that. Surely there's a bit of ADD going on with me. Too many irons in the fire will do that to a person!

Interestingly, I've noticed other people seem somewhat flustered, too. Must be in the air. Or perhaps, there is anticipation, nervous energy, that this year will be loads better than the last. Let's hope it is.

As for me, I'm working on that 5K. But not just to be cool. There's health at stake here. This seems to be the age some of us start to fall apart in ways more noticeable.

This time, I'm going to do something a bit more drastic.

A couple of years ago, I mentioned finishing P90X. Ouch! Well, I'm back at it. With a vengeance. It's serious this time. I've added some TurboFire. One word for TurboFire, "WOW!"

To prove it, the seriousness, that is, I signed up at Beachbody.com. Their stuff just works and it's fun. I'm taking advantage of their "coaching" opportunity, which will definitely hold me accountable. I intend to be successful at ridding myself of a roly-poly figure. I mean, I just don't need it anymore, cute though it may be. Gah! ((and eyeroll)) Egad. The coaching opportunity helps me share with other like-minded folks who want to learn more about Beachbody products. It also helps me focus on my fitness goals. And, I get a nice discount on this:


Today, I just received my first package of Shakeology. This stuff is loaded with all kinds of goodness. Beachbody offers it as a meal-replacement shake that provides energy and tons of nutrition. It's a touch pricey, but I figure good health is worth the investment. Now, I know, it's a shake. Fruits and veggies would be preferable. I tried that. I ended up buying a lot of fruit and veggies. I couldn't buy enough to compare to the nutrition in Shakeology. I'm vegan, so when I say I would need a lot of fruits and veggies to stay healthy, I mean a whole lot! Which is fine, really. But there are other mouths to feed in this house. And most of them don't care for so much green on their plate. It's difficult to afford all those separate meals, and it's very time-consuming to prepare them all. And my understanding about Shakeology is, one serving is like consuming loads of fruit and veg. It sounds like it would taste like yuck, but I just had a glass and it was actually pretty good! Surprised me even. Haha! The kiddos like it, too. In any case, I'm going to give it a go and just see what happens.

All of this gives me an idea. I think my next videos will be about this new program I'm involved in. Perhaps, a video of my workouts and some Shakeology recipes. Sounds like fun! I'll keep you all posted, in case you're interested.

Boy, talk about accountability. Now I have to get in shape! Haha!

More info about Beachbody workouts and Shakeology can be found here: beachbodycoach.com/sdchan
and here: shakeology.com/sdchan