My Beachbody story- in progress

I've been a Beachbody coach off and on for 4 years. I started just to get a discount on my Shakeology, when I was 8 months pregnant with my second child. I jumped right in, attending my first Beachbody event less than 2 weeks before she was born...

The CEO of Beachbody, Carl Daikeler, points to my daughter in utero.

The day she was born, I advanced to Emerald coach, where I've been at least ever since.

I got back in shape relatively easy, using Turbofire, P90X and running.

I went to summit and met Tony Horton and Shaun T.

I made enough money with Beachbody to pay to renew my group exercise certifications. I was once again Turbokick, Piyo, and AFAA certified. I renewed my Yoga RYT designation. And I started teaching again.

Then... I got a new job in a new state, moved, and got surprisingly pregnant, all within about a month.

I took a break from Beachbody, but here's the thing that's great: Because of all the work I had done when I was working the business, I had residual income. I've been making money this whole time.

So now I'm back. I decided I miss it. I miss the events. I miss stalking- I mean meeting- fitness celebrities. I miss my team. And I do miss the larger paychecks.

Stay tuned. I'm building my team again. If you want to find out how you can build a business that keeps paying you even when you're not working it, I can show you. Or if you'd just like to try some Shakeology, I can help you with that too. But I promise you, I'm going places with this. So keep watching!

First Marvelous in My Monday

I'm joining the Marvelous in my Monday link up party ! #MIMM. This is my first time...


So, what's marvelous in my life today?

1. I started 21 Day Fix Extreme today. Oh. My. Goodness. So extreme. So challenging. I had previewed a few workouts before officially starting, but Plyo Fix Extreme- it was like Insanity or something!

2. I worked yesterday, which means I get Friday off this week. Only one of my children will be home. It will be like a vacation!

3. I was able to put on a pair of pants today that were quite tight the last time I tried them. Since my scale is broken and I didn't take measurements when I started 21 Day Fix, I'm using this to gauge my progress, and I declare PROGRESS MADE!

4. While I was at work Sunday, my husband took the kids to the beach. It was probably the most beautiful day we've had all year. Here they are frolicking:

What's marvelous in your Monday today?

Three Thing Friday

Hooray! It's Friday!

Not the best quality of that video, but who cares? The song says it all anyway...

Here are some things to think about today:

1. Don't blow all your hard work this weekend.

I'm so guilty of this. On the weekends I get lazy when it comes to nutrition. I feel like kicking back and celebrating, so I eat or drink some things I shouldn't. Don't let this be you! I'm committing to staying strong this weekend and I hope you are too!

Don't eat this, for example. (Source)

2. I really want to see Cinderella

Last weekend, I was going to take my four year old daughter to see Cinderella. I had a perfect Mommy-daughter day planned. We were going to go after church. Well, after church, she announced that she didn't want to go to the movies. Instead she wanted to stay home and play Minecraft with her brother (I don't understand that game...). Of course, about 3 hours later she started crying because she wanted to see the movie....

3. My hair is driving me crazy

I'm so tempted to do something crazy with it. Lately, I've seen girls getting these haircuts where they shave the side of their head. I did that in junior high and got grounded for it. But now it's cool again. At first I thought it was ridiculous, but the idea has grown on me and I'm tempted to play with the clippers..... thoughts?

Those are my issues today. How about you? 

Have a great weekend!

Why did I give up coffee?

I recently did something that people may find shocking: I quit drinking coffee. Let me clarify- I gave up caffeine.

Now, I'm not going to be militant about it and refuse to eat chocolate or something ridiculous like that, and I still may have the occasional Diet Dr. Pepper (yes I know they're poison, they're my treat), but gone are the days of relying on coffee to wake me up.

 I know there is a ton of info out there about health benefits you get from drinking coffee. I know this. But I also know I felt like a stretched rubber band that was about to break. I had anxiety- shakes that were sometimes uncontrollable. I had also built up such a tolerance that the coffee wasn't even working anymore. I also came to realize that (gasp) I don't really like it that much. I like it with fancy creamer, and I can't resist a good salted caramel mocha, but just plain coffee? Gross. I don't like it.

It's been a little over a week now and I think the worst is over. But there have been some unexpectedly challenging moments. I thought the hardest part would be the withdrawal headaches. But really the hardest part is WHAT DO I DO WITH MYSELF WHEN I WAKE UP? I'm so used to preparing coffee before my eyes are even fully open. So, I cheated a little and started drinking decaf. (I know what you're thinking, you're thinking A. Decaf has a little caffeine and B. You didn't give up coffee if you're drinking coffee. Bear with me). I decided I really still want that ritual. I can be healthy and caffeine free but still make myself a warm drink in the morning. My plan is, when I get the chance to pick some up, to drink Teeccino instead of decaf. I've had it before- it's good.

Overwhelmingly, I feel free. Yes I'm still choosing to participate in the ritual, but I love the feeling that if I were in a place with no coffee, I wouldn't die from a headache. I would be ok. I'm considering doing some cleanses that I put off only because they required me to stop drinking coffee. One of these is the 3 Day refresh. I'll be trying that soon. A longer cleanse would be the 21 day reset. That's more of a commitment, but I can do it now because I'M FREE FROM COFFEE!

I'm not going to preach to anyone that they should quit drinking coffee. I'm just saying it's working for me. I feel proud of myself and I feel FREE.

21 Day Fix... or "Finally, something that might work..."

A little bit about me:

Back when I was at my best

I was super fit. I was in the best shape of my life. I had had 2 kids and when I was surprised to find out a 3rd was on the way, I thought I would just bounce right back after she arrived.

A few days before she was born

My sweet surprise

Well, she's almost 2 and I'm still 25 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight.

I've tried a bunch of different things. I tried using old plans from before I was pregnant. I hired a trainer. Each time, I give up. I quit. I lose and gain the same 10 pounds over and over again.

This time, though, I am determined. I'm in my second week of the 21 Day Fix and it's pretty easy to follow. I'm taking away the pressure of feeling like I should be at the gym lifting. I basically started over as a beginner after a long time away from any kind of workout. I feel so good to be doing SOMETHING.

I'm also running 3 times a week. And when I say "running", I mean "working up to running 5K again".

So, stay tuned. I'm going to have some great before and after pictures.

Songs to Run To....

Every week I'm going to post a song that helped me get through a run. (P.S. Yes I am running again. Kind of. Ok, there is running in between the walking. Whatevs).

And yes, I realize Songs to Run To ends in a preposition. I just don't care. "Songs to which to run" doesn't sound as good.

I've found most hip hop songs are the exact right tempo for me to run along with the beat. This is one of those songs. But the lyrics are great to help you keep going when you don't feel like you can anymore.

Do you have a song that helps you when you are running? Comment and let me know! I'm always looking for new ones!

Oh look. A new blog.

I decided to just start from scratch and come up with a new blog.

Who am I? Here you go:

I am a married mother of 3 small children.
I am a health and fitness fan.
I am a doctoral student.
I am a librarian.

I also love to watch television.

So, those are the things I'm going to talk about here. We'll see how it goes...