Beachbody Update!

I haven't been very good about blogging lately. I still need to post about Ethan's 7th birthday...that was over a month ago now!! It's been pretty busy around here lately. I'm hoping to get caught up soon though.

So I recently took the plunge and signed up to be a Beachbody coach!! I figured that I love the products so much that I should go ahead and do it, getting myself the coach's discounts, and creating the opportunity to help others find health & fitness again like I have. I truly believe that if I can do this, anyone can do this. Before starting last October, I hadn't done a "workout" since college. And yeah, I'm not 23 anymore! ;) It wasn't easy at first (I had to drag myself up and down stairs for a week or so), but now that I've found a routine, it's kind of like second nature to get up and do my workout before starting my day. I've found that it helps wake me up, gets me moving, instead of feeling like I am dragging all day, and puts me in a better mood. Add on top of that the fact that I'm burning calories, and I'd say it's a win. I love that most of the workouts are just 30 minutes or so. While getting up at 5:30 am is fun and all, I don't want to have to drag my booty out of bed any earlier than that! Some people love going to the gym, the social aspect of it all. Me, not so much. I'm an introvert at heart, and frankly, I prefer to sweat in the privacy of my own home. These workouts are perfect for me. I prefer to have Autumn push me through the TV screen than have a trainer breathing down my neck.

Now that I'm 6 months in to my journey, I've completed 3 rounds of the 21 day fix, 3 rounds of the 21 day fix extreme, an 8-week round of PiYo, and another couple weeks of the 21 day fix extreme. I also did a Beachbody 3-Day Refresh at the beginning of the year, and I continue to drink Shakeology every day. I'm in better shape than I've been since I was rowing my freshman/ sophomore years of college, and I now weigh less than I did both before kids and before I got married!! Things are distributed a little differently than they used to be, but I'm working on that. ;) As you can see, a huge change from where I was 6 months ago. I'm down 23 pounds and 11 inches (measuring shoulder, chest, waist, hips, one thigh, and one calf). I still have some problem areas to work on, but the proof is in the pics. This "diet" and exercise routine works. That's what I love most about it - it's not a diet. It's eating a portioned amount of healthy, real foods. I don't feel hungry at the end of the day, or like I'm starving throughout the day. By spreading my meals/snacks out throughout the day, I keep blood sugar stable and energy levels up. I'm still working on the little cheats I keep finding on the weekends (my sweet tooth is a force to be reckoned with!!), but overall, I do a great job throughout the week at least.

As you can see, it's possible to lose weight without eating salads every day. I actually don't really even like salad that much. It's ok, and I'll eat it if I have to, but I've found that if I cook/roast my veggies, I actually love them, and I don't have to force them down.

With the 21-day fix, you're provided color-coded containers and you figure out how many calories you should eat based on your current weight. I'm currently in the 1500-1799 range (for a little bit longer at least!). Based on your calorie range, you are given a certain number of each container to eat. I get 4 green containers (veggies), 3 purple containers (fruits), 4 red containers (protein), 3 yellow containers (carbs), 1 blue container (healthy fats), 1 orange container (seeds/dressings), and 4 teaspoons (oils and such). I'm not very good about getting my orange containers in, but I normally get all of the others. This sample meal plan from my day one contains all of my containers for the day except the orange. As you can see, it is a TON of food!! No starving myself here! Here's my detailed meal plan for the day:

• Breakfast (344 calories)
• GREEN: sautéed bell peppers, onion, spinach
• RED: 2 eggs, over easy
• YELLOW: 1 slice whole grain toast
• PURPLE: 2 clementines
• TEASPOON: 1 tsp EVOO
• Morning snack (176 calories)
• GREEN: spinach
• RED: 1 scoop vanilla Shakeology
• FREE: 2 espresso ice cubes
• Lunch (413 calories)
• GREEN: roasted Brussels sprouts
• YELLOW (2): quinoa
• PURPLE: mixed fruit (grapes, raspberries, clementine)
• TEASPOON: 1 tsp EVOO
• Afternoon snack (436 calories)
• PURPLE: Granny Smith apple
• RED: vanilla Greek yogurt
• BLUE: chopped walnuts
• Dinner (225 calories)
• GREEN: roasted broccoli
• RED: Cajun sautéed shrimp
• TEASPOON: 2 tsp EVOO
• TOTAL: 4 green, 4 red, 3 yellow, 3 purple, 1 blue, 4 tsp; 1594 calories

To make things, easy, I actually eat these same items every Mon/Wed/Fri, only changing up the dinners for the rest of my family's sake. :) I do normally cook a carb for them to eat with dinner, but I try to eat all of my fruits and carbs before 6 pm, which means before dinner for me. Sometimes I will have a carb with dinner, but not as often.

Beachbody is currently doing a #summerstrong challenge through the end of May. I am completing the 21-day fix extreme for this, but there are other exercise program options as well. Once I finish this, I'm planning to start either the T-25 program with Shaun T (the P90X guy), or the Master's Hammer & Chisel with Autumn and Sagi. There are so many great options depending on the type of workout you're wanting. I'm so happy I made the decision last fall to let Coach Fraley start me off on my journey and I can't wait to start helping others in my situation, too!! Contact me, visit my Beachbody website, or comment below, if you'd like more info! I'm getting my body beach-ready, are you?? ;)

October 2015                        March 2016