My "Why" for drinking Shakeology!

I know I talk about Shakeology here all the time, and guess what, I'm going to talk about it again! :D It's something that has played such a huge part in my overall health, and I want others to have that same experience. Shakeology gives me energy, enough that I have virtually been able to give up coffee (and anyone who knows me knows what an accomplishment this is!). It's helped my IBS tremendously. Since I've been drinking it, I haven't been sick once with so much as a cold, and I used to get bronchitis 4x a year. Shakeology is delicious and filling, and truthfully, the idea of a day without it stresses me out. I'm addicted, but I'm perfectly okay with that!

The main reason people seem to balk at the idea of Shakeology is the cost. I did too when I first learned about it, so I totally get that. I think what gets people the most is seeing that one bulk charge of $119 a month retail or $89 a month wholesale (coach price). Sure, when you look at it that way, it looks like a lot of money to come up with at one time. But, if you take that cost and break it down daily, you're looking at between $3 and $4 a day. I don' t know about anyone else, but I used to spend more than that on breakfast and coffee almost daily! Shakeology can be a meal replacement or a supplement. If you use it for breakfast, then you're replacing the cost of breakfast. If you eat out or order in, even just stop and get a bagel and coffee, you know you're already saving money. Even if you eat breakfast at home, depending on what you eat, you're still either going to save or break even.

Several months ago, someone asked in a discussion on a message board if energy drinks were bad for them, even diet. I said yes, they are full of chemicals and suggested Shakeology. The person said they couldn't afford it. I looked up the cost of the energy drink (Rockstar), and it was $2 a can. I used to drink Rockstar all the time, and it is not cheap, even compared to regular soda. Two cans of this stuff a day and it's already the same price as the retail cost of the shake. And, not only are there no health benefits to energy drinks, but they can in fact be dangerous to overall health with all the chemicals and artificial sweeteners. Not to mention, they only work temporarily. You feel the "high" of the sugar and caffeine for a couple of hours and then it's all crash and burn. I've been there, I know. Rockstar and Pepsi Max were my "must have" drinks just a few years ago.

In addition to the savings in food, coffee, energy drinks; I guarantee if you stick with it, the cost of medical bills will decrease. I saw a post on FB a while back from someone who had been drinking Shakeology for just one month and had huge decreases in blood sugar and cholesterol levels, without changing anything else in her diet. I haven't had to be treated for bronchitis in almost a year. I used to have to go to the doctor all the time for breathing treatments and x-rays of my chest. I also used to take Stackers and Ephedrine like they were candy to give me energy and lose weight. Can you imagine the damage that did to my body and my wallet? Regular exercise and a healthy eating plan will keep the doctor away, and Shakeology is a crucial part of that for me. Many have probably seen this video, because I have posted it before on FB, but if you haven't, take a look. 100 doctors testimonies on the benefits of this drink. If you haven't seen the video, watch it here. http://myshakeology.com/esuite/home/coachdebnahom/doctors

Bottom line with Shakeology is that it will improve overall health, it will increase energy, and it will aid in weight loss. For the minimal cost of under $4 a day, why not try it? If you get it on auto ship, you don't pay shipping, and there is a 30 day, bottom of the bag money back guarantee. If you don't like it or don't want to continue after 30 days, send the bag back, even empty, and you will get your money back! If you do continue to use it and stay on home direct, on your second shipment, you'll get a free Shaker cup and 2 free workout DVDs! A money back guarantee, free shipping, two workouts. Not to mention better health! What are you waiting for! ;)

Slim in 6 Review

As part of my blog, I’m going to periodically do a review of a Beachbody workout program. So, for the first one, I thought why not start at the beginning with the first program I did; Slim in 6. I started using Slim in 6 in February of 2010, and without it I would never have had the strength physically or the mental confidence to move on to P90X or Turbo Fire.

Slim in 6 is a program designed to burn fat and reshape your body in just six weeks using low impact cardio and light resistance combined. There are three different levels; Start it Up, Ramp it Up, and Burn it Up. Ideally, the goal is to be at the Burn it Up phase in no more than two weeks, and even sooner based on your own fitness level. When I started this program, I was in really bad shape. I hadn’t worked out in about two years, and I had very severe back problems. I never made it past Ramp it Up during my whole first round, and I was only able to do the program three times a week. But, I did the best I could and also incorporated swimming in to my routine, and eventually I did get stronger.

Start it Up is 25 minutes long and uses low impact cardio, squats, and lunges for the first 15 minutes. The last 10 minutes are comprised of strength training with resistance bands that come with the program. Other than the bands, you might need a chair in the beginning to help with balance during some of the lunges and squats. I would recommend doing start it up for the first week, but listen to your body. If you think you can move up more quickly, do and if you think you need more time in on this phase, that’s okay too. Although it’s designed as a six-week program, there’s nothing wrong with making it longer if you’re moving at a slower pace.

Ramp it Up is 45 minutes and uses the same moves that Start it Up does, but the intensity is increased and additional moves are added. Aim to be at this phase in the second week of the program if not before, but once again, do what feels right for you. You want to push yourself and challenge yourself to keep doing more, but not at the risk of injury.

Burn it up is 60 minutes and again adds moves and increases intensity. Burn it Up is an excellent cardio/resistance workout and, although it’s low impact as far as having no jumping, it’s not easy. You should be ready for Burn it Up by week three and continue to do this part of the program for the remainder of the six-weeks. My recommendation is to get to Burn it Up as quickly as you can so that you can experience the best results, but if you can’t make it through the whole thing, do your best and keep increasing your efforts every day.

In addition to the three regular workouts, you also get some really cool bonus workouts. Slim & Limber which is a fantastic 14-minute stretching routine and Slim & 6 pack; an 11-minute workout that focuses on abs and core. I have done Ab Ripper X from P90X and the ab workouts from both Turbo Jam and Turbo Fire, and I have to say, Slim & 6 pack is just as tough as those workouts. My core was on fire the day after the first time I did it!

Two other awesome bonus workouts that come with the program are Cardio Core Express, which is a 35 minute cardio workout that also focuses on the core, as well as Thin Thighs Guaranteed, which, you guessed it, focuses on toning and sculpting your legs.

One of the things I love about Beachbody workout programs is that they always come with lots of extra goodies to help us to be more successful in the program. Slim in 6 has lots of fun stuff included, such as the resistance bands, a tracking calendar, a tape measure, a copy of Michi’s Ladder, and a nutrition guide. Exercise alone is not enough to see the best results, and with this program, you are given a guideline of the right way to eat to have optimal results.

I love this program and recommend it to anyone who is just getting started out with workouts. Keep in mind, though, that even though it is low impact meaning your feet never leave the ground, there are many moves that require squatting and lunges, and if you have severe knee or back problems, this might not be the best program for you. There are ways you can modify the moves, but if you do have joint issues, check with your doctor first to make sure the moves in Slim in 6 will not aggravate the problem. The only other thing that I would caution people to be aware of, is that Slim in 6 can get repetitive. You are increasing your intensity as you go, but the workouts are the same almost daily. I would definitely recommend adding in the bonus workouts for variety, and as your coach, I can help you come up with a schedule for the program that gives you that variety and will help you to attain the best results.

Slim in 6 is a great way to get back in to a workout routine if you’ve been sedentary for a long time or have never worked out. It’s also great when you’re looking for a big calorie burn without jumping up and down and putting stress on your joints. It’s only six weeks long and you will see results in those six weeks if you follow the program and keep your nutrition in check. Slim in 6 is also one of the most affordable programs, starting at only $59.95! When you check it out, you can also take a look at the Slim & Shake special, which combines Slim in 6 with Shakeology, the healthiest meal of the day, for an awesome discount. If you’re interested in learning more about this workout, Shakeology, or any other Beachbody program, I’d love to talk to you about it and help you out with recommendations as to what will work best for you!

www.beachbodycoach.com/coachdebnahom

www.myshakeology.com/coachdebnahom

Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail; Not Just Words!

Today’s workout was an “epic fail”. As I look back on it, I can easily count all of the obstacles that I put in my way, right from the beginning (notice I said, that I put the obstacles there, and not that they were just “there”) and how blatantly I set myself up for failure.

The first strike was that I had a bad attitude about my workout. I was doing Fire 45, which is difficult for me because of the choreography. I should have done it yesterday, but I had to flip flop my workouts due to time constraints, so I did HIIT 20 yesterday. Right from the beginning, I knew I didn’t want to do Fire 45, so my attitude was super negative.

I decided that since I had time, I would do the “new to class” version again, in the hopes that once and for all, I’d figure it out. New to class would turn the 45-minute workout in to about an hour and a half workout. So, of course if I had planned to do this, I should have done the workout early.

Strike two. I got caught up doing other things and didn’t end up getting started until after 3:30 pm. I wasn’t wasting time, but knowing I had such a long workout ahead of me, and one that was so challenging, I should have started much earlier. Not to mention, my roommate was due home by about 5, and I wasn’t sure at this point that I would even have time to do the whole thing.

One of the reasons I prefer to work out early is so that my back doesn’t hurt from sitting too long. Once I have spent the day sitting at my desk, my back pain increases and it’s harder to put my all in to my workouts. Yep, strike three! By the time I was ready to get to it, my back was really bothering me, and the idea of exercising for over an hour to Fire 45 was becoming increasingly less exciting, if that was even possible. No matter how bad I ever feel before a workout, once I get in to it, I feel great. But for some reason, I couldn't change my mind set on this one today.

So, strike one- My attitude was stinks. Strike two- I’m working out too late in the day. Strike three- I’m in pain. If this were a baseball game, I’d be done. But, no, unfortunately, I struck out one more time. I was getting hungry. I had eaten lunch about 12:45pm, so it was time for a snack, and I was feeling it. I debated eating something and waiting another hour, but then I wouldn't have been able to do Fire 45 (in hindsight…). I looked at the Turbo schedule to see what I could do to rework things, but there really wasn’t anything. I had already flip flopped two workouts and my rest day, so there weren’t any other changes I could make. I decided to wait to eat and get the workout done. Well, surprise, surprise… It didn’t get done!

I put in the Fire 45 DVD, replayed the new to class twice, got frustrated and said forget it (actually “forget” was not the word I used). No way I was going to do this workout, but I didn’t want to just walk away, so I made an attempt at Fire 45 EZ. Unfortunately, even though I love that workout, by the time I finally decided to do it, I was too far gone to make it happen. I think I did about 5 minutes of EZ and gave up.

If you set yourself up to fail, you WILL fail! Right from the start, I doomed myself with a bad attitude and extremely poor planning. I knew I didn’t like the workout I was doing, and I knew why. I should have done it in the morning, no more than two hours after breakfast when I was feeling good. I would have had plenty of time to work on the new to class section and get the moves down. There are some workouts that I can do later in the day, and I don’t have any problems but this was not one of them, and I knew that. So, tomorrow I’m going in again, but I’m going to learn from the mistakes I made today.

No one is perfect. No matter how much you love to workout or enjoy clean eating, there are going to be days you just don't want to do it. When those days happen, look back and see what changes you could have made to create a more positive experience and implement them next time so you decrease the chances of the same thing happening again. Planning ahead is the most important step to success.