Monday, August 22, 2011

Healthy, Happy, Fit! My story!

I don't know if you know my health story and how I became involved in Beachbody or not, but it certainly bears repeating. 




I have always been a pretty healthy person, didn't get sick much, had allergies, but didn't have to take medications for it.  I ate a normal, standard American diet, but always thought I ate fairly healthy.  I drank sodas, not a lot of water, but still thought I was doing good.

I always had a headache.  Not kidding, it was just what degree that silly headache was going to be that day.  Most of the time, it was just a nuisance and a distraction.  Soon, those headaches really changed.  I was getting migraines, sometimes 2-3 per week.  I went to many doctors and no one could explain to me why these headaches were so bad.  At this time, I had all the kids in school and sports and other school activities.  A lot of times, Brian and I had to split up to make all the kids events.  I remember going to many a game or concert feeling horrible, but was not going to miss the kids' performances or games.  I felt like crap.  I gave up soda because I was told the caffeine was causing the headaches, they didn't get better.  I was taking a LOT of over the counter medications and then a LOT of prescribed medications.  I developed pain in my joints along with an ulcer from all the medications.   I knew something needed to change. 



I was getting massages to help with the headaches and one day my massage therapist, Connie Brown at The Right Touch, told me that maybe I should change my diet.  I thought she had lost her mind, but at this point, what did I have to lose.  She told me about the Hallelujah Diet, a mostly raw food diet that she was having success with.  I decided to give it a try.  After only 2 weeks, the headaches were so much better.  I was amazed.  I went back in for my next massage and Connie told me that something had definitely changed.  I looked different.  She said she couldn't see the pain in my eyes.

My doctors couldn't believe the changes either.  I felt good, so good in fact, I couldn't believe how bad I had been feeling.  When you don't know what good feels like, you really don't think you feel that bad.  But after being headache free for a couple of weeks, I realized just how horrible it truly was.  I did NOT want to go back that lifestyle. They now think that the steroids and anti-biotics in the animal products I was eating was the main cause of the headaches.

This was not an easy diet to maintain.  It gets really cold here in the midwest, Eating raw foods during the winter just wasn't going to cut it for me.  So, I decided after reading Marilu Henner's, Total Health Makeover that I would cut out all meat products, but continue eating cooked food and some dairy.  I loved my cheese!

  I had lost a few lbs after changing my diet and was quite surprised that I had gained as much weight as I had.    I was plugging along and the more I thought about it and the more I read about it, I decided to give up dairy.  It was a hard decision, but I told myself that I could always go back to it if I didn't notice any changes.  I was still having a few headaches now and then, but the ulcers were gone, the pain in my joints was gone.  So, what did I have to lose but a headache now and then.

After giving up dairy, I lost 10 lbs.  I couldn't believe it.  That brought my total weight loss to 25 lbs.  All from making a few changes in my diet.  At this point, the weight was gone, but I needed to tone up.  Nothing looks worse than a saggy, baggy body.  So, I decided to exercise.



Now, I LOVE infomercials and am a sucker for them all.  We have so many silly things that didn't live up to their promises, but I decided that I'd give Power 90 a try.  It looked like a good thing and I could surely do soemthing for 90 days right, plus there was that 30 day money back guarantee.  So, I ordered, it showed up and I got busy.  I didn't love it, but I did it.  Then I saw the infomercial for Yoga Booty Ballet, ordered, did it for a while, then Slim in 6.  I could go on all day long.  Didn't even really pay that much attention to the fact that all the workouts I was ordering were from Beachbody until I saw that they all mention message boards.  At this time, I ordered Turbo Jam.  I was HOOKED!  I loved it and couldn't wait until my workout time every day.  I was working a full-time job, running the family's construction business with Brian and raising 3 very busy boys.   This was my lifeline to sanity!  I was on the message boards and we would do challenges each month and I made some lifelong friends.

One day one of the girls on the message boards contacted me to let me know about the Beachbody coaching opportunity.  I figured I was already sharing my love of the products with everyone that would listen, why not make enough money to pay for my vitamins and get a discount on the workouts.  Boy, has it grown beyond that.   I absolutely LOVE my job.  I get to share my passion for health and fitness with others and watch them get healthy and fit as well!  That is my favorite part of the job.

I am always looking for like-minded people that want to help other people get healthy and fit, work on their own fitness and make a little money on the side.  The beauty of this job is you get to set your own work hours, you decide if you want to work part-time or full-time and that discount comes in handy when you want to get a new workout or get started on Shakeology! 

If you want more details or want to get started with my team, please message me.  I am looking to mentor 2 people right away!

Trust me, it's the best thing I have ever done for my health and I know that I will not ever go back to my old ways of eating and not exercising!



Discussion:  Is there some turning point in your life that has impacted you and helped you create your own health story?