Clean Eating for a Healthier You

Clean Eating for a Healthier You

Rough Start

Since becoming a Beachbody coach, I've had the opportunity to first work on myself, and then to begin to work in the lives of others. It wasn't an easy beginning! In fact, it was definitely a rough start. I was a little salesy at first, because I honestly didn't know what I was doing! On my Facebook page, I had friends dropping like flies, saying things like "I'm on here for my family and friends, not to be advertised to!" I got it....eventually. I started taking the word 'Beachbody' and 'challenge' out of my posts, and started posting about 'support groups.' These support/challenge groups give members a way to interact with others, including their coach, and have fun as they're motivated and encouraged to continue working out and eating well. Once I started talking about supporting others, and taking the selling to others out of my posts, things started going better! After all, that's what I really wanted to do-help and support others! About a month ago, I realized that if I wanted people to trust me, and know that I will support them I would have to show them without them having to invest much. I decided to venture into the world of cleaner eating.

Clean Eating

Clean eating is defined, at least when it's defined by me, is cutting out the junk; getting rid of the processed food, refined sugar (including high fructose corn syrup), white flour, and getting more of whole foods such as vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and more water! When I started posted on my Facebook page about a clean eating group that gives members 30 days' worth of clean eating recipes, shopping lists to go with them, plus nutrition tips every day for 30 days, I was astonished at the response I got! Especially when these groups that I form are free! I simply ask for my members to get a free Team Beachbody account with me as their coach, so that I can learn to be a better coach through helping more people. I can only do that if I have people I'm helping, right. People who I can stay in contact with after the month is over. Then I had another idea; why not put together another set of recipes, so that those in my first group could move on to another the next month, if they wanted to. That way, if they aren't ready to commit to a fitness challenge or Shakeology, they could still get support and continue to actively improve their lives.

I have been amazed by the participation and the results that I've seen in under 3 weeks! These members are working hard at eating well, and are losing weight! I calculated today, with the numbers that about 8 members have given me, together our results have been a loss of over 15 pounds in about 2 1/2 weeks! I'm excited for those who are ready to move on to my next group! It's awesome to see individuals finding success through a simple meal plan. So many of the members have told me that they, and their families, love these recipes. Many members love the idea that they don't have to plan their meals for the week, nor do they have to figure out what they need to go shopping for (because the shopping lists are designed for each week's worth of recipes). The recipes come with not only the 3 squares, but include snacks and desserts (all clean eats, of course). Yes, it's alright to have what many people call "cheat meals," but if you don't know how to control yourself, and the cheat meal turns into a cheat day, which turns in to a cheat 2 days, and then, before you realize it, it's become a cheat week, month, and maybe year. You give up on yourself!

During the group, members not only get nutrition tips, but other tips, as well, including this one, that my coach posted in one of her groups:

Today I want to talk to you about emotional eating. We often eat (junk) because of an emotion we are feeling....boredom, sadness, anger, frustration even happiness. This oftentimes gets us in trouble because it is not helping the situation but actually in the long term making it worse. We just consumed a lot of junk (calories) and it didn't solve the situation or make you feel any better about it long term. It was a temporary satisfaction that leads to long term demise.

I want to share something with you all and some of you may have seen this before. How many times have I heard someone say I just had a stressful/bad day so I deserve chocolate/wine/ice cream or for guys a couple beers. How many times have I said that to someone or thought it myself. Our number on the scale is so much more than bad eating and lack of exercise. You need to focus on the other aspects of yourself as well during this challenge so that after the challenge is over you do not return to old answers and habits for stress and emotions.

Soon after starting your weight loss program, you begin to realize that your eating is not the only part of your life that is out of control. We soon discover that we are people who lack balance and harmony in many other areas of our life, too.

We are a four-sided person emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical. Consider each area with regard to your current situation. Begin by asking yourself the most important question, where is my life most out of balance?
Next, turn your attention to the four bars that represent your heart, soul, mind and strength. How much balance do you currently have in each of those aspects of your life? What area of your life needs attention today? Do you see a pattern emerging between the balance and harmony you are experiencing and the struggles you are having with your weight? Remember, no matter how strong you may be in one area, you are only as strong as your weakest point!!!!!!

Remember the battle begins in your mind. I have recently discovered the power of positive thinking myself and this has changed my life. Try to focus on the positive. Not only the good things you have in life, but also the good things you want in life. Completely redirect your thinking. Spend no time thinking on the negative. NONE! Do not focus your attention on it all. If you are not focusing on it then you do not need to find ways to comfort yourself because of them. Especially with food. Remember you are special, unique and worth it. Believe in yourself!!!

Today I challenge you to examine the emotions you are feeling when you want that tub of ice cream or that bag of chocolate bars or that bag of potato chips. Think about whether you are wanting comfort or if you really need to eat whatever you are about to stuff in your face. Then find another way to deal with the situation. For some that may be prayer, or meditation, or yoga, or a self help book, or a convo with your best friend, or a good sweat fest. I personally have used all those methods. The reason this is so important to me is because that is me. I am an emotional eater and I have had to find another way to deal with it.

Eat Well, Feel Good

Eat Well, Feel Good is actually the name of my first clean eating group. It is so true, don't you think? Many of us grew up eating processed, artificially flavored, and dyed food, and don't realize how horrible these foods are for us. I get that these types of foods are often cheaper and more "appealing" than good, wholesome food. It takes time to get used to a clean eating diet. Sure, I crave pop, pizza, candy, and donuts sometimes, but lately my mind has been quicker (and Shakeology helps me with cravings as well, especially with how delicious and dessert-like I can make it) about remembering how that junk food makes me feel. I ate take out pizza a few weeks ago, and felt sick shortly after. I hadn't felt that way before, and we'd been having it every Friday to try to start a family tradition, but we missed a week. In reality, I'd missed a week of poisoning myself with refined sugar and bleached white flour, nitrites from pepperoni, and who knows what else. My body had flushed out the junk, and was in shock when I hit it after it's week of detox.

Like I said, I crave junk, and am not above having it every now and then, but it can suck me in! Junk food is addictive! I believe the clean eating group is a way to help with that. We admit to our struggles, and we rejoice in the triumphs! Does a clean eating support group sound appealing and promising to you? I'm not gonna lie to you and say that it's easy, because it's not, but at lease we can work together to make it a little more fun and a little more bearable! If you are interested in joining a group, I'm starting another one February 3.

Before the Type 1 Diabetes Diagnosis

Before the Diagnosis

Insulin-deprived

Our son, Isaac, has always been a very active boy. He loves mighty machines, trains, planes, dirt, and bugs like most other boys his age. In the past, we've had issues with him biting others, which I've heard is something many children go through. Like many behavior issues that are encountered in kids, they seem to occur because kids want to be understood. When they aren't understood, they try their hardest to find a way to show their unhappiness, or a way to get attention so their needs can be met. "Relieve my pain," "understand what I want" seems to be what they're trying to say. I could put some of the behaviors that Isaac began to exhibit before his type 1 diabetes diagnosis in the "relieve my pain" category. Different behaviors that we had not previously encountered, and ones that we thought were gone for good, began to appear and reappear.

During the weeks leading up to his diagnosis, Isaac began wetting the bed practically every night of the week; he had nighttime potty trained himself months before, so to have it reoccur had us wondering what we were doing wrong. So, because we thought it was something we were doing wrong, we began cutting back his water intake before bedtime. Unbeknownst to us, Isaac's body was trying 24/7 to get rid of the excess sugars that were beginning to overtake his blood. Excess urination is also the body's way of getting rid of toxic ketones, which can build up when the body tries to utilize fat, instead of carbohydrates, for energy. Thankfully, Isaac didn't develop ketoacidosis, which is a common occurrence in the days leading up to diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Ketoacidosis is an emergency, and some of the symptoms that usually progress rapidly over a 24-hour period can include nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, cerebral edema (swelling of the brain), which can cause headaches or coma, among other symptoms.

Another behavior that appeared in the weeks leading up to Isaac's diagnosis was his extreme thirst. Looking back, I see now that it was almost like an obsession for water. His daycare teacher brought this behavior to our attention, and as we watched him run around the room, going to the drinking fountain, then returning to the drinking fountain moments later, we realized there was a possibility that something could be wrong. After all, it was fall, and fall is not particularly warm in Idaho. Yes, you can still be thirsty during the cold season, and we thought we were doing alright at keeping him hydrated, but we still wondered why, within a ten minute period, he visited the drinking fountain more than 10 times! A few nights before I called to set up a doctor's appointment, I walked into his bedroom and did a double take! Lined up on his dresser were 12 (yes, I counted) cups of water! He hadn't spilled a drop, and had included a straw in each cup!

A third behavior that we noticed, which may or may not have been linked to his type 1 diabetes, was weird misbehavior. Oh, ya, I'm aware that 4-year-olds know how to misbehave, but we didn't think pooping and peeing outside were things that 4-year-olds would do, especially after his peers stopped thinking he was funny. But, as I said, we're still not certain if these were even behaviors linked to his type 1 diabetes. We do know, though, that his constant hunger can be easily linked to his type 1 diabetes. His body was practically starving, since his cells couldn't use the glucose that was taunting them! Without insulin, which acts as a key to unlock the door into the body's cells, the cells can't get their best source of energy, so the body resorts to breaking down fat for energy, and toxic ketones, as previously mentioned, are produced.

In the weeks leading up to his type 1 diabetes diagnosis, Isaac slowly began to lose weight. I hate to say this, but we had been feeding him donuts for months, sometimes 3 or more times per week, in hopes that he'd gain weight, instead I gained about 30 pounds, haha. Granted this was before we began eating healthier, and before I became a Beachbody coach and lost those 30 pounds. Now we rarely have donuts, although, I'll admit, we still love eating them! Ok, I need to stop talking about donuts and go back to talking about Isaac! Isaac had always been shorter and smaller than most of his same-age peers, so we had hoped to pack a few pounds onto him. A few months before, we had even bought a new car seat, because we were hoping he'd reach the 30-pound requirement for the seat. But, as I said, he actually lost weight before his diagnosis.

Before Isaac was diagnosed, & before we knew what it was doing to his insulin-deprived body

Before Isaac was diagnosed, we knew next to nothing about type 1 diabetes, or about diabetes in general. I'd been tested for gestational diabetes while pregnant with Isaac, but I was only borderline, as many women are during pregnancy. I never had to test my blood sugar or have insulin injections. Also, we knew of no one in either of our family (my husband's nor mine) who had diabetes, at least not type 1. It wasn't until after his diagnosis that we found out that type 1 diabetes is not necessarily heritable. However, the autoimmune gene that causes diabetes can be inherited. There are tests that can be done to see the likelihood of other members of the family developing type 1 diabetes, and one of Isaac's friends has undergone that test. His friend's sister has type 1 diabetes, and he tested positive for a few of the markers, but has not developed type 1 diabetes yet. Also, the chances of having another child with type 1 diabetes increases with successive births, and it's not uncommon to have 2 children with type 1 diabetes.

Prior to diagnosis, we didn't know the signs to look for, but once we got the clue, we began doing research. Don't ignore certain behaviors that your child exhibits. These could potentially be symptoms, and left untreated they can progress to something serious. No, I'm not suggesting that you become a paranoid, overprotective parent, you simply should be observant, as I hope that you already are! Remember these symptoms: extreme thirst, frequent urination, irritability, and weight loss.

I would love to hear from you about your experiences!

P90X & Team Beachbody, Another "Family"

P90X & Team Beachbody, Another "Family"

The Beachbody Challenge

In April 2013, I saw a post that a gal from the women's group at church had posted in our group on Facebook. She had announced her upcoming fitness challenge group, and invited us to join her to work out for 60 days. I got curious, so I sent her a message asking for more information. She sent me a video with more information about the challenge, which happened to be the Beachbody Challenge. The Beachbody Challenge calls for the participant to use a Beachbody fitness program, such as, for example, P90X, Insanity, or Brazil Butt Lift. The participant enters his/her statistics, which include beginning and ending weight and measurements, and a before and after photo in order to receive a free T-shirt, and get entered for a chance to win cash prizes. I got excited, but wasn't sure if I was ready to commit. But, my husband gave me the go-ahead to pick out a challenge pack, and let the gal who had contacted me, and who also turned out to be a Beachbody coach, know that I wanted to join her challenge group. Then, the only challenge before the actual fitness challenge began, was to decide which fitness program I wanted to do.

I'd heard of P90X, Insanity, and Brazil Butt Lift, but had never pictured myself using any of these fitness programs. I'd seen the infomercials, but had never had another thought about them. In the past, I'd purchased a few Jillian Michaels's work out programs, and I'd done some other random work out routines, such as running (or trying to) at least once per week, and other little monthly fitness "challenges" that my husband's cousin had hosted. We'd done 30 days of burpees, where we ended with doing 100 burpees! We also did challenges that incorporated a variety of moves to tone different areas, but none of them really did enough. I knew, and my husband assured me, that I could be consistent with a Beachbody program, because I was already motivated with his cousin's "challenges" I'd been involved in for the previous couple of months.

P90X

It was hard for me to decide on a fitness program for the Beachbody challenge, and I'm kinda a tight wad when it comes to spending, especially when I buy things for myself! My husband told me that if I couldn't decide, then he would decide for me (because he planned on using the program eventually, and I wanted his input, too). Well, I wasn't able to decide, so he picked P90X, and we went ahead and ordered the challenge pack. When the challenge pack was delivered, I still had a few days before the challenge was to begin. I was excited and nervous all at the same time! I wasn't sure what to expect, and was curious to see if I would be able to make it through any of the moves. After all, P90X is known for how intense it is. The program incorporates muscle confusion, including pull-ups, push-ups, yoga, and plyometrics, to name a few.

When the day the challenge was to begin arrived, I was ready! I took my before photos, weighed myself and set a goal weight, and set up my work out schedule via my Team Beachbody account. I checked in with my fitness challenge group and my coach via our private Facebook group. Having someone to be accountable to, and to talk about my struggles and my successes helped me so much! It gave me the motivation to keep working out, and drinking my Shakeology almost every day. The first few times I drank Shakeology, I didn't like it, I have to admit! I had gotten the Tropical Strawberry flavor, which I have actually now grown to love, and I had mixed it with soy milk. I talked to my coach, and she recommended I try it with almond milk, almond butter, and a dash of maple syrup. This combination of ingredients was actually one of the recipes that was on the calendar I received with my Shakeology, but, remember, I'm a tight wad, and didn't want to purchase extra ingredients before I actually ran out of perfectly usable ingredients! I did try the combination that my coach recommended, and it was delicious! Now days, I usually blend Tropical Strawberry with about 20 ounces of water, a banana, a scoop of peanut butter, and a tablespoon of chia seeds.

Team Beachbody Coach

About a month after I'd purchased my challenge pack, my coach sent me a message about the coaching opportunity. I was hesitant, at first, but it sounded interesting. I watched the video about coaching that she sent me, and I got excited about the possibilities! The coach speaking in the video told her story about how she became a coach, and even though she lived in a small town, and was not a very social person, within a year she was making thousands of dollars a month just being a Beachbody coach! Since then, I've heard of numerous stories about coaches, some that I know personally, who have been able to quit their jobs to become full-time coaches. The main reason for success as a Beachbody coach is the amount of people you build trust with, guide, motivate, hold accountable, and inspire to change their lives, and take their health into their hands. We want to know about goals, and what others are doing for their health, and desire to help them achieve success! It's taken months of hard work to "work the business," as we call it, but it's worth it to see lives changed!

My Transformation Story

About two months into P90X, which was the end of my challenge group with my coach, and about a month after becoming a coach myself, I began to map out my transformation story. I wanted to show others what fitness, nutrition, and Beachbody had done for me. I sorted through the pictures from our camera and cam across some pictures from summer 2012. Have you ever had one of those moments that become a sort of wake up call? I had one of those moments while looking at those pictures! I began thinking about what my weight had been during that summer, and realized that I had weighed, on average, about 150 pounds. I have never really struggled with my weight, nor had I felt large at the time, even though I now know that I was the largest I'd been in my life, and even close to the same weight I was while pregnant with my son! I'd had my son four years prior to that summer, so he wasn't the cause for my weight. I look back, and realize that the working out that I'd been doing prior to that summer weren't doing enough, and I probably wasn't eating very well, either. 150 pounds may not seem large to you, but for someone who is only five foot, two inches, I was overweight. My husband never said a thing about my weight during that summer, but when we both saw my picture, we uttered the word "chubby."

I know that weight and outward appearances do not define who a person is, but I also know that with extra weight, and unhealthy eating habits, I wasn't who I wanted to be. I also didn't have enough energy to keep up with the things that I needed to be doing; the responsibilities of a wife, a mother, and a student. I remember constantly taking naps, having back aches, constipation, and frequent migraines. I didn't realize that my weight was probably the culprit for my ailments, until I looked at that picture, then compared it to how I looked after P90X, and now over a year and a half later. Since that summer, I am down four pant sizes, and I have lost more than forty pounds. With P90X, I lost over 9 inches over my body, and lost over fifteen pounds. After P90X, I decided to try out Focus T25, which had just come out around the time I finished P90X. I've since then completed Focus T25, and started P90X2, but have now included the new P90X3 into my workout routine.

Summer 2012 vs Summer 2013

Team Beachbody, Another "Family"


Since becoming a coach, I've found a wonderful passion, not only in working out and creating a healthier lifestyle for my family, but also in helping others realize how important their health is, too! The other coaches I work with desire to help others so much, including helping fellow Beachbody coaches, that recently I've come to know some of them as family.My coach has especially been someone I've grown close to. She has motivated me to keep striving and to keep being consistent. She has encouraged me to set goals that are big and scary, but she has always helped me to acquire the tools that I need to be able to achieve those goals! She has prepared me with the tools not only to grow my business, but to grow my self. Other coaches have inspired me to work harder, and smarter, by providing me with tools and tips that they have found success with, but they have also inspired me with their own personal achievements. We share our goals and our successes. We also share our struggles and downfalls, which has helped us to grow as coaches and individuals as we offer encouragement and support to each other.

It has taken a good deal of mistakes, hard work, and disappointments to get to where I am today as an emerald Beachbody coach, but it has been worth it! I love sharing about what Beachbody has done for me and my family, and learning about what it has done for others. I don't have an awesome body (yet), nor do I have the most disciplined work out routine, or nutrition regime, but Shakeology provides me my healthiest meal, and I feel so much better than before I was sent that message by my coach, and before I began my first fitness challenge. I love to hear about the goals that others set, and strive to motivate them to map out a plan that will get them to success! This month, I began the first free clean eating challenge that I'm hosting on my own. The previous challenges that I've hosted, I've co-hosted with my coach, so the clean eating challenge is a new adventure! I have plans for hosting another one next month, as well as a Beachbody challenge. These groups and the members are so awesome and unique; as I learn about each member, their goals, and what I can learn from them to become a better coach!

I would love to hear your story! What goals do you have? And how can we work together to get you to your goals?

January 3, 2014

Type 1 Diabetes; A Change in Lifestyle; Not the End of Childhood Fun!

The Characters of my Life

Since I'm on break for the holidays, I've decided to write a bit more, and I may try to write about two times per week. This coming semester I will have a less stressful semester than the last, which will give me more time. I'm excited to write more, and even from a young age, I wanted to write for magazines, and write my own novels. When I was in middle school, I applied to write for a magazine, but, unfortunately I was declined :( My dad bought me a used computer, so I could write to hearts content. I remember spending hours typing away, sometimes late into the night. I wrote down biographies about all my characters, and got wrapped up in trying to perfect everything about the story. Now days, I write about the real characters and events of my life!

Our Lives Changed

A little over a year ago, our world changed, and there was nothing we could have done to prevent this change. When our son, Isaac, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes September 20, 2012, we had no idea what type 1 diabetes was. Sure, we’d heard of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), but didn’t know there was much of a difference between type 1 and the other types of diabetes. We were in for a world of change!

That morning in September, I had called the day before about some of the symptoms for type 1 diabetes, which Isaac had been exhibiting. For a few weeks prior, one of Isaac’s daycare teachers had kind of been hinting about the extremity of some of the symptoms. I remember being in Isaac’s classroom, and in the course of about 10 minutes, he had gone to the drinking fountain about 5 or 6 times! In the middle of the night, before he was diagnosed, I remember walking into his bedroom and seeing 12 (yes, I counted) cups of water, with straws, lined up on his dresser! His extreme thirst was his body’s way of telling him that he needed to get rid of the excess sugars, and ketones, that were building up in his blood stream.

When we eat, our bodies, specifically the pancreas, produce insulin, which acts like a key to our cells, allowing our cells to open their doors to utilize the sugar from the food we eat. In type 1 diabetics, the cells of the pancreas that produce insulin have been destroyed. So, without insulin, the body can’t get the energy from the food, the body slowly starves. It does utilize the fat stores, but this process produces ketones, which are toxic. There are theories as to why the insulin-producing cells are destroyed, such as contracting a virus, but, unfortunately, there is no way to prevent it, or predict a diagnosis based on the presence or absence of diabetes in the family.

Last year, sitting in the doctor’s office, we had no idea what to expect. I was a mix of emotions, which didn’t help when the doctor almost couldn’t believe our suspicions, because Isaac didn’t look sick! We’ve always struggled with getting Isaac to gain weight, as he’d always been in the lower percentile of growth. When the doctor had Isaac pee in a cup, Isaac thought it was the coolest thing. The doctor took the urine sample, and was gone for what seemed like hours, although it was only about 20 minutes. Isaac wasn’t worried about the results, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it!

To the Hospital!
When the doctor returned, he informed us of the news, and what the next steps were. Our appointment began at 8:30 am that Thursday morning, and we were in the hospital by 9:00 am. The severity of the results dictated a call to swift action! If you (yes, diabetes can occur in people of all ages) or your child have extreme thirst, extreme needs to urinate, or are always feeling hungry (no matter how much you eat), you might want to schedule a doctor’s appointment to check for type 1 diabetes.

Our stay at the hospital was full of a lot of scary and new experiences. We were very thankful that Isaac was diagnosed when he was, because many people after a diagnosis have to be put on an IV, but Isaac didn’t need one. Ketoacidosis, the extreme production of those ketones (from fats being broken down) poisons the body, and that is why many newly diagnosed type 1 diabetics must be on an I.V.. The doctor was sure that, if we had waited another week, Isaac probably would have been in much worse shape.

My husband was already at work, so I wasn’t able to reach him with the news. Isaac and I spent the next few hours being deeply exposed to what our new life was going to look like. It was basically a crash course in how to keep Isaac alive and healthy. He was poked probably close to 100 times in the 2 days that we were in the hospital. Many of those times were spent trying to get enough blood from his fingers to test his blood glucose. And most of those times were stressful, as they were full of a lot of tears!
Thankfully my parents were able to come be with us while we were in the hospital, and after my husband got off work, he was able to join us, as well.

The staff at the hospital was nothing but accommodating, and helped to alleviate Isaac’s pains through multiple trips to the treasure box. Isaac spent a lot of time running down the hall, and playing with the bed controls. Isaac, thankfully, has no ill memories of being in the hospital during that time! When we went home, Friday evening, he wanted to go back to the hospital. We were still so new at everything-counting carbohydrates to make sure that we gave Isaac the right amount of insulin, drawing and giving the insulin, even checking in blood sugar was still difficult!


It's a Learning Experience
Now, over a year later, people constantly comment on how calm we are about the whole situation with Isaac's type 1 diabetes. Well, we’ve kept him alive, healthy, growing, and as cute as ever, for the past year, haven’t we, so why shouldn’t we be calm? We’ve seen some pretty low lows, and some pretty high highs, but through it all, he’s getting better. No, there’s no cure, but we can take the best care of him, and instill in him the importance of taking good care of himself.

Thank you God, for bringing us this far, and for taking care of us the whole way, no matter how difficult at times this journey has been! And thank you for all the supportive individuals You have placed in our lives!