I am so flippin’ excited, I have to share. When I started on this Beachbody journey, it was for personal weight loss. Tom Birkenmeyer, do you remember me calling you from a store parking lot IN TEARS, because I had to lose weight NOW!!!??? I saw an outfit that was clearanced from $250.00 down to $32.00 and I couldn’t fit into it. I was devastated! Fast forward to this morning (11 months into my journey)….I just picked up 2 brand new pairs of jeans and a skirt (all on clearance 🙂 ) in a size that I haven’t worn since 1982!!!!!! That business suit that I wanted that day….WOULD BE TOO FLIPPIN’ BIG ON ME NOW!!!! I am beyond STOKED right now and practically in tears as I type this. Tom, thank you so much for sticking with me. I am so thankful for you and Beachbody!
I was in a size 18 when I started this. I just got my rear end into size 10 pants. I literally haven’t worn a size 10 since before my daughter was born. She was born in July of 1983. Crazy motivated right now!!!!!
“Tom, a good report this month I had gotten my period and no bloating or pain. I have suffered with so much pain and I wished someone would shoot me and get my suffering over with. I feel fine I can’t believe it……Thanks to you and shakeology yay!! I feel brighter and emotionally stronger…this shakeology is really lifting my depression or helping me rise above the storm in my life” – Teri
“I sleep like I am dead! I used to wake up about every 2-3 hours every single night but not now ever. It (Shakeology) has also completely eliminated all estrogen replacements meds for me! HaPpY DaNcE!!!” -By the way – this happy person is drinking Shakeology and working out most days of the week with Slim in 6.
“I just had to share this… my mom has been drinking Shakeology for two weeks… She is also going through early menopause… Since she started drinking it she has had no night sweats, is able to sleep through the night (which she hasn’t done in years without sleeping medication), and her personal trainer, who she has had for months, keeps asking her what she’s doing to lose weight!! I’m so happy for her!!” -Jennifer M
“After a few weeks of drinking Shakeology, I noticed that all of my menopause symptoms went away….no hot flashes, no major mood swings — nothing!! That, ALONE, was good enough reason to continue drinking Shakeology!!! (yikes!) …what also made me continue was the increase in energy, weight loss, reduced cravings & poor blood test results move into normal ranges in just 2 months!! Shakeology just really helps to heal the body!!” -Joyce Wingate Boyden
People have asked just WHY I drink Shakeology? Well, some of the main things I noticed was that my hot flashes are GONE! So are the mood swings that used to come with my cycle. Having those symptoms GONE is more than worth the price!! But it also gives me the steady energy I love every day- without peaks/crashes. I feel better, stronger, healthier. You really can’t BUY that- but you CAN buy Shakeology! –Angela Gee Bray
“I think Shakeology does greatly reduce menopausal symptoms.” –Lora C.
“It’s only been a month but I hardly cramped this month!” – Denise F.
– Tom
Try Shakeology. If you don’t feel significantly better in 30 days I want you to get all of your money back including free shipping so you have no risk if it doesn’t work out for you.
There are two main VERY different definitions of what a Healthy body is. See which one makes more sense to you.
The medical community defines a healthy body as a body that currently displays no risk factors for heart attack, stroke, or chronic disease. You’re simply told, “Good job you’re healthy see you for your next regular check up”. And well over half of those supposedly healthy people will go on to develop at least one chronic disease. Many of them two or more chronic diseases. And many of those will drop dead of a massive sudden heart attack or stroke as their first warning sign that something is wrong in which case will be too late to fix the underlying problem.
Naturalists, as well as my personal beliefs, define a healthy body as a body that is activated and reactivated to enable the bodys own healing mechanisms to keep all disease and sickness at bay and it doesn’t matter what you call the disease if the body is truly healthy then disease cannot invade the body. If something invades the body its because the invader was enabled to exploit a vulnerability in the bodys natural defenses because the vulnerability exists in the first place.
Instead of only treating the symptom its our responsibility to fix the underlying problem and REACTIVATE the bodys own healing mechanisms to fix the problem.
In the medical community healthy people are taken over by chronic disease, heart attack, and stroke every day because they do not enable the body to heal itself instead they only treat the disease or the sickness. I believe if the medical community redefined what it is to be healthy then they’d have more power to help people change their life style and become truly healthy people with fully equipped healing mechanisms inside. All of the equipment needed is already there in the body! So Flippin Activate it already!!
If we just accept disease as fate or genetics then it makes us easy to just cry victim powerless over our own lives to reclaim our own health. The body innately wants to heal itself. There is a real under estimated MAGIC to that innate desire the body has! We just have to give the body the tools it needs to do so. That’s where nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and over all life style come into play.
Either health or sickness will win and take over your body. The one better nourished wins. If health wins you win. If sickness and disease wins you lose. If the body asks for organic whole foods and you give it a diet coke you sabotage your own self interest by nourishing sickness over health. Nourish Health so it can do its thing for you and give you a MASSIVE wonderfully abundant healthy life.
Yes toxic food is generally cheaper than healthy food. Your body doesn’t care! Health doesn’t comprehend money. But you do! Health is the BEST wealth. Some of you out there are making money decisions at the expense of your health saving your wealth to buy the deficient toxic foods. And then you don’t have any wealth either so that plan is not working out to well! People who think this way are generally poor in almost every area imaginable especially in wealth and health. I know its not out of laziness some people are running HARD chasing sunsets but they’re running east! Maybe a good plan is all that’s needed so all that energy is refocused in a way that’s more in line with what they want?
Shift your beliefs and you can have it all. Wealth, Health, Success and Fulfillment.
P.S. I am not here to undermined any advice, care, or treatment you are getting from your doctor or other health care professionals. I’m preaching personal responsibility for you to do your own research, include your doctor as part of your team, and make your own decisions as your own personal advocate for the things you want.
This philosophy dramatically helped me see my dreams come true. See if it can help you to.
It’s not what happens to you that determines your destination its the set of your sail that determines your destination. Another way to put it is… It’s not what happens to you that determines the way your life turns out it’s how you respond to what happens to you that determines how your life turns out.
If you get burned by a false promise, a person, an entity, it will kill you or grow you depending on how you respond.
You’ve been burned before. We all have. Some of us die others grow beyond anything we could imagine. Let all your experiences teach you. The lessons found in our failures is so incredibly powerful if we take the lesson and apply what we learn.
Welcome all new experiences the good with the bad because the same walls that drive out sadness also drive out happiness. Not only that but they also drive out opportunity to make the discoveries you need to make to get everything you want. Walls are murder to your dreams and once that happens life is over.
When you make a mistake and totally mess something up, because it’s not if but when, let it teach you. EVERY event in response to an action validates if that was the right or the wrong action. The more mistakes you make the more you learn what not to do and the closer you come to FAILING YOUR WAY FORWARD TO THE TOP. That’s how I did it. You can do it to. I know you can. In fact I promise you that you can. The universe guarantees it!
-Tom
P.S. A Quote from Lindsay Matway, “You MUST come to terms with and create a space in your life to fail, but large enough to fail-forward, not fall complacent… Remember that even a championship thoroughbred must first be broken to arrive at its destiny. It’s in the journey to become what you think you want, that you actually become who you are destined to be!”
3 documentary films you must see in my opinion are “Food Matters”, “Forks Over Knives”, and “Food Inc”. Literally every person that I know, including myself, who have seen these films have been inspired to change the way they spend their money and what they put into their bodies. Consequently they are living happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives. If you are like me you will probably feel like you’ve been treated by those motivated by pure profit as nothing more than a rag doll just tossed around and respected about as much as they respect their workers and farm animals. I do not want to make those people rich anymore at the expense of my income, health, and the planet in which I live. We need to become aware (watch those documentaries) then pay the awareness forward so more people take personal responsibility for their health and spend their money differently.
Industry will follow the money they always have and always will. If we want industry to change then first WE must change.
I would absolutely love to hear what you think and feel after watching the three films I recommended. Please by all means reach out to me on my Facebook.
– Tom
Desert Sage
P.S. A transcribed Excerpt from “Food Matters”
I worked with a lady once who was suicidally depressed. She lived at home with her family. She was in her fifties. She spent all day sitting in a corner facing the corner. She wouldn’t talk to anyone, eat with anyone, she was totally un communicative. She was under the care of a psychiatrist as she should be. The psychiatrist had her on a variety of medications which you would expect. The family was wondering about her nutrition. I mentioned to them about Dr Hoffers work with niacin, a naturally occurring vitamin in nature, and they wondered how much she needed to take. At 11,500 mg of niacin a day she was sitting at the table talking to them like nothing had happened. So they went to the psychiatrist and showed the psychiatrist this recovered person. The psychiatrist said wellllll I don’t think you should take all that niacin it might be harmful. So they stopped giving her the niacin and she was back in the corner. There is not one death from niacin per year on average. There have been one or two attributed to niacin over the last 15 or 20 years. But there is not even one death per year from niacin. How many people per year who are suicidally depressed go and end their lives? – Andrew W. Saul Ph.D.
Doctor Saul gos on to say…
Two handfuls of cashews give you the therapeutic equivalent of a prescription dose of Prozac. If you’re depressed the first thing you can do is know that its ok to be depressed. If you’re malnourished you should be depressed so don’t do that anymore. Go and eat good food.
90% – 95% of the food in most grocery stores is nutrient deficient toxic food. People who consume deficient toxic food can’t help but to occupy a deficient toxic body. ~ Get Informed ~
Most of the nutrient dense non toxic food will usually be on the outside isles of the grocery store. But not even that is enough! Look for the organic plant based all natural Whole Foods. I follow a plant based whole food nutrient rich diet. Every person I know who eats a plant based whole food diet has more natural energy and feels better than people who eat too much meat and dairy. They perform better, feel better, alleviate stress better, recover better from traumatic events, recover better from exercise, and they don’t “crash” in the middle of the day. This kind of plant based super food nutrition has also been known to prevent, arrest, and reverse many different kinds of chronic diseases. Hippocrates said let thy food be thy medicine..
Here is a list of some GREAT items I love to throw in my shopping cart when I hit the store! =) by the way, you might also like our Plant Based Whole Food Cooking and Juicing show for more ideas.
My Healthy Grocery Shopping List! I’ve listed some VEGAN resources, and other Helpful resources, at the bottom as well as some more food tips!
Proteins
Lentils
Quinoa
Nuts and seeds
Beans
Fish (water packed tuna or fillets, salmon, halibut, cod, red snapper, tilapia
Enjoy Life Cereal – Crunchy Flax Original Gluten Free 6 grams of fiber per serving!
Whole Wheat Pita (Low Carb Variety – Joseph’s Pita Bread, or Food for Life brand)
Corn Tortillas (Food for life brand)
Whole Wheat Tortillas (Food for Life brand)
Rice Cakes (lightly salted only)
Non Dairy Cheese!! (this is being the most difficult VEGAN food to find that tastes good)
coming soon… But for now DAIYA is the best I’ve found.. I’ve also had CASHEW based home made cheeses that, to my extreme surprise, taste better than the best dairy cheese I’ve had. I’m from Wisconsin so I know and LOVE dairy cheese. I just stay away from it now because dairy is a slow killer, literally. I haven’t found any cashew based cheeses sadly. Not yet anyway. Google recipes for Cashew based Vegan Cheeses. They are amazing. Also, check out our video on making a VEGAN Nachos and Cheese with a Cashew Base. Every meat eater I’ve ever fed this to, so far, raves about it and how much better it tastes than dairy cheese.
I use to be a strong advocate for milk and all dairy. I’ve learned things about milk and dairy that I cannot unlearn. I put together some resources to help you with your own research and decision. If you choose to go dairy free for yourself and for your family I want it to be because you made an informed decision that you feel good about rather than because you blindly followed me. You may even find yourself very angry at the dairy industry, the federal government, the Pharmaceutical industry, and big agriculture as you learn the truth about Dairy that the Dairy industry or the government is not going to tell you. Click Here for some Non Dairy Resources.
Green Leafy Lettuce (Green Leaf, Red, Leaf, Romaine)/Bagged Salad
Fresh Beets
Broccoli
Asparagus
String Beans
Black Beans
Spinach
Bell Peppers
Brussels Sprouts
Cauliflower
Celery
Mushrooms
Pickles
Cabbage
Sprouts
Cucumber
Green or Red Pepper
Onions
Garlic
Tomatoes
Zucchini
Squash
Spaghetti Squash
Pumpkin
Sea Vegetables
Wakame Seaweed
Nori Seaweed
Arame Seaweed
Fruit
Berries (All berries are great!)
Lemons or Limes
Melons (not watermelon)
Grapefruit
Apples
Dates
Grapes
Oranges
Eat bananas, strawberries, peaches or plums sparingly (lots of natural sugar)
No dried fruits, including raisins (loaded with sugar)
Healthy Fats
The ONLY way to eat healthy fats is in their Whole Food Form such as WHOLE walnuts, seeds, avocados etc. If you’re going to do oils use them minimally. Here are a few:
Olive Oil Extra Virgin First Cold Pressed
Raw Nuts (almonds, pecans, cashews)
Flaxseed Oil
Coconut Oil – un refined extra virgin
Sesame Oil – Cold pressed
Avocado
Beverages
Water! (Install a water filter for your home. Bottled water is toxic. Bad for you and bad for the environment. And for Petes sake stay away from Vitamin or Flavored Water!)
Unsweetened Tea (If you use sweetener make sure it’s all natural organic such as cane sugar or stevia)
Black Coffee (I have coffee only once and a while. Always organic and fair trade. Fair trade ensures the farmers are compensated fairly)
Non Dairy Milk (rice milk, almond milk, hemp milk etc. – Soy Free and Dairy Free)
Condiments & Misc.
Organic Ville Non Dairy Mayo (Finding a VEGAN Mayo that tasted really good was amazing for me. This tastes better than hellmans original mayo and I LOVE hellmans!)
Bragg Liquid Aminos – Soy Sauce substitute
Apple Cider Vinegar (unfiltered, raw, and unpasteurized)
Miso (Make sure it contains NO MSG)
Mirin (Look for EDEN brand)
Rice Vinegar (Unflavored, unsweetened, no high fructose corn syrup)
Umeboshi Vinegar
Balsamic Vinegar
Balsamic or Raspberry Vinaigrette (Farm Grove)
Salsa or Fresh Pico De Gallo
Extracts (vanilla, almond, etc) <— Great in your coffee in place of creamer!
Cayenne Pepper Powder (A staple in my house I put it on almost everything especially my raw vegan dishes)
Instead of Sugars try WHOLE FOODs as sweeteners. I listed some “healthy” sugars below and even though they are “healthy” it is still NOT healthy to add ANY kind of sugar isolate to your food. Check out this video I made and cut all sugar isolates out of your diet =) https://youtu.be/TNKC4h2uBuE
Raw, Unfiltered Honey
Stevia
Grade “B” Dark Maple Syrup
Agave Nectar
Coconut Palm Nectar
Raw Cane Sugar
BEST Sweets to Curb your cravings!
Shakeology (Vegan Chocolate is my personal fav!!! I have 2 servings each and every day)
Powerful Healers Found in Herbs and Spices! Get into the habit of cooking with these Immediately! RAW has more Power In Healing Yourself and Loved ones:
Oregano
Cumin
Garlic
Ginger
Turmeric
Basil
Clove
Fennel
Mint
Parsley
Fenugreek
Cayenne Pepper
Rosemary
Cinnamon
Paprika
Cilantro
Dill
Sage
Thyme
Safron
More Tips:
– Cut out Dairy
– Cut out GMO contaminated food
– Eat More Organic
– Eat Less Gluten
– Buy Local whenever possible. Support your local economy and the Land!
– Instead of olive oil eat whole olives. Instaed of nut oils eat whole nuts. Instead of avocado oil eat whole avocado etc.
– Instead of sugar eat whole foods that have sugar that naturally occurs in them.
– Red Meat Purchases; ONLY GRASS FED. Corn fed cattle is pro inflammatory to the human body
– Poultry; purchase only organic and caged free
– Fish; purchase only wild caught. A lot of the fish farms are toxic and have sea lice as well as other bacteria destroying the nutritional benefit of their fish.
– Pork; there really is no good option but if you buy it buy organic
Just over six years ago, when I was 29, I herniated two disks in my neck at C5-6 and C6-7 which are at the base of the neck right between the tops of my shoulder blades. I didn’t have surgery, so I still get flare-ups from time to time, and they can last from weeks to months of sharp, excruciating pain. For years I’ve been waking up every day in so much pain in the morning that I can’t function normally. Taking a shower in the morning was nearly impossible as I couldn’t twist or turn to reach everywhere. It would take hours to “warm up” and some days it would last all day. The closest I can come to describing it is it feels like an ice pick or a knife jammed between your shoulder blades. Just two or three years ago, there were a few days where I’d be at work and do some simple twisting movement or stretch and I’d have to go to the ER because the pain was so intense. Crippling. Even recently I was having enough trouble that I went to a sports and spine center to get some therapy.
I’ve been working out with Power90 and drinking Shakeology for the last three weeks. I have strengthened the muscles in my shoulders and back enough that I am no longer waking up in any pain. I’m sleeping better, I can function properly, and I feel better than I’ve felt in years. I initially started doing this to lose weight and get in shape. Now I see weight loss as a bonus. Being pain-free is what motivates me!
I grow Healthy Rich People. That’s pretty awesome! But it’s the poor and the humble that I really enjoy helping the most. They are more hungry for change and growth than the comfortable. And it’s really warming and inspiring to watch someone grow their self confidence with one action at a time and over all success in their lives from very challenging scenarios. The poor and humble will express more gratitude than the comfortable and when they change, grow, live, they will give back more than the comfortable because to be totally comfortable is to also be selfish. In a world where over a billion people are starving to death there is no worthy scenario to cease changing and growing. The poor and the humble is where it’s at!
The poor and humble are more likely to give back more as they create wealth for themselves. They remember where they came from so they have a tendency to pay their success forward as they achieve their own success. Remembering where they came from fills them with more gratitude than the comfortable. There is not much else that turns me off more than a person with good fortune who has no gratitude. A person who has triumphed over intense challenges is more likely to be extremely grateful. I actually take at least a minute of time out every day to consciously be grateful for my good fortune. It’s really important to me to do that.
Triumph over struggles is inspiring! The bigger the struggle the bigger the triumph the bigger the inspiration for people who need that hope while they go through their own struggles! The comfortable are too busy being lulled into a state of complacency, perhaps from their job because it’s a paycheck, that they are not doing anything to inspire anybody.
I’m not saying the comfortable are bad people. They are just in waiting, consciously or more likely sub consciously, for an experience that turns everything on for them. We all have a trigger that turns on desire. It just takes the right experience to trigger that desire that turns everything on. That experience is different for everyone so who knows what that experience will be from person to person! Welcome ALL experiences including the bad ones because you never know which experiences is going to be the one that turns everything on! Call it a life changing day because you took down the walls that keeps out both happiness and sadness.
For me one of those experiences was in April of 2006 when my job was off shored to India at no fault of my own. Up til that point I was lulled into total complacency along with most others who lose their hunger because they have a job that pays the bills. I wasn’t doing anything to grow to the “next level”. My entire income was that one income that I didn’t even own so when that one income I had that I didn’t even own was taken away from me along with all my health insurance I had nothing. It created a very negative devastating emotion that lead to a very POWERFUL positive outcome. I became the poor, the humble, and the uncomfortable. My comfort was taken away from me! THANK GOD FOR THAT! That lead to my FINALLY owning my own life, my income, my destiny, creating wealth for myself, health, GRATITUDE, and everything else that makes me who I am today. And tomorrow I will keep growing because I know first hand the folly of getting too comfortable. There is always another level to grow to and we must always keep going. Live full and die empty right? YES!
Here is something that the poor and humble are not! The poor and humble are not certain members of our society who take free money from the government with no ambition to ever become independent of help from the government. The person who does that is the poor and the entitlement driven stealing from the rest of us. We are not paying our public school teachers decent wages. Sometimes our soldiers fighting for us over seas die because we cannot afford to give them the proper body armor. Some of our kids have died from preventable illnesses because we could not get them the health insurance they needed. Over 80% of our total population, including our kids for the first time in our history, are dying from obesity and life style choice related problems. All of this is going on while we have a number of both poor and rich people taking from everyone else with no ambition to become independent of government help. Some people actually boast about how they “play the system”. Those are the cowards taking money from the dying child because we cannot afford that child health insurance and the dead soldier who should have lived if only he had the proper body armor which we could not afford for him.
The poor and humble accepts the government help but they feel very uncomfortable to do so. They let the government help buy them more time while they work hard to become independent from government help. Some of the poor and humble who go on to create lots of wealth for themselves will write a check to the IRS for every dollar they received from the government while they struggled financially. They pay the government back!! That is inspiring!!!! Who does that?!?! The MOST HUMBLE people do that.
Coby Linder: How Beachbody® saved my dad’s life (and Challenge Packs saved my business)
By staff writer Abby Cohen
“I wasn’t a marketing guy, or a workout guy,” says Coby Linder. “Just a drummer in a band, a fat kid who watched his dad almost kill himself with food. He didn’t know how to stop. Until he found Beachbody.”
Three years ago, Coby was the last person you’d expect to see posting YouTube® videos about Shakeology®. Touring the world with his band, Say Anything, Coby was living his dream of playing drums professionally. “Wherever we went, the crowds loved us,” he remembers. “I thought it was too good to be true.”
Turns out he was right.
“I was drinking too much, eating really badly, smoking . . .” Coby admits. “I was at my heaviest ever. I couldn’t stop—it was just like my dad.” It was then that Coby got the devastating news.
“Not only had my father contracted cancer for the second time, he’d been diagnosed with diabetes.” Coby shakes his head. “He had to change everything in life, fast. Or he wouldn’t HAVE a life.”
Coby had been unable to quit his own unhealthy habits, but facing his dad’s mortality, something shifted. At the peak of his music career, Coby decided to focus on his father.
“I put dad and me on P90X—both of us were guinea pigs to see if I could be a good Coach,” he recalls. But Coby never expected this other outcome.
“This program I did for my dad’s health . . . ended up saving mine.”
His father dropped a whopping 120 pounds and got his diabetes under control, and chemotherapy eradicated his cancer. Coby lost 45 pounds, too, proving to himself that he had the power to dramatically improve his health. But while his dad continued to get healthier, Coby wasn’t so lucky.
“I went back on tour and gained back all the weight. The yo-yoing was really discouraging. Frankly, I started to get desperate—thankfully! Because THAT gave me the willingness to change.” That’s when the real transformation started, when Coby tried something he’d been resisting.
“As soon as I gave Shakeology a chance, I fell in love with it,” he says. “I started to accept that I’d been using food emotionally and finally, I was ready to stop. I let Shakeology do what it was going to do. I wanted Coaching to have a real effect on me, so I decided to go to the biggest Coaching event of the year.
“I went to Summit, open to whatever was going to happen. It was so inspiring, I went Emerald a week later and Diamond three weeks after that!”
Coby put in a lot of hard work and it paid off. But the most significant spike in his earnings came from a “simple” change.
“I started selling Challenge Packs. That worked like nothing else—even people who’d never been interested before got on board.”
Coby chalks it up to the framework of the Beachbody Challenge™. People still work out at home when they can best fit it in—but now the group is accountable to each other, and to him. “We all inspire each other,” he explains.
In fact, the Beachbody Challenge gave Coby something he’d wanted from day one of his Coaching business:
“For the first time, my Beachbody check covered all my rent and expenses!”
“My earnings went from an average of $175 a week to over $1100. And with the Beachbody Challenge, I know I can make even more.”
To make sure his group stays focused, Coby connects often. “I post motivational quotes, reply immediately to calls and messages, help with meal plans—I’ve even taken people grocery shopping to show them what ingredients to look for and which things to avoid.”
The way he sees it, these interactions are another advantage.
“Everyone in my Challenge Group is excited to hear my suggestions and ideas—and their motivation is incredible.”
What advice does he have for Coaches who are about to embark on a Challenge Group?
“Do it for real, from the heart. Participate and care. These people make a commitment to you as much as to themselves and their programs. You have to take this journey too—invite them to join you.”
“Whatever program you’re doing now, stop. Start it over as a Challenge Group and you’ll see better results.”
Now when Coby goes on tour, he drinks Shakeology, exercises before the shows, and makes sure his band is supplied with healthy food. He’s even gotten other band members to do the same.
Of course, the biggest change for Coby has been his peace of mind, knowing his father is healthy.
Says Coby, “My dad’s a two-time cancer survivor; he’s obviously a fighter. He just didn’t know how to fight until Beachbody. There are all these Beachbody Success Stories, and heroes—I put my dad right up there with all of them. Now I can’t think of anything better than taking after him.”
Coach’s Playbook:
If you’ve got one person, you can start a group. Find their friends, get your family into it—once you start it, everyone will be hooked.
Put at least an hour a day into your Challenge Group. You owe it to them—and yourself. And the results are amazing.
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. If you put your mind to it, you can easily find ways to keep people interested—especially once they start seeing results.
Educate yourself. The more you know, the more you can help others.
Trying something is better than trying nothing.Even the most profound changes start with a shift in mindset. I tell people who want to lose weight, why not just try SOMETHING?
“Don’t miss the chance to grow and resolve to pay that price until you learn.. change.. grow.. become.. Then you’ll discover some of lifes best treasures when you Pay That Price!”
Jim Rohn is right! I’v been doing this a few years I see that validated on both sides of the fence every day over tons of people from all walks of life. Those willing to dream dreams and ready to pay the price to make those dreams come true go on to live happier healthy more fulfilling lives those not willing to resolve to pay that price don’t go on to live happier healthy more fulfilling lives. It actually gets worse for they who are not ready to resolve to pay that price. They who wait til after they are successful to begin doing the deed to become successful are stuck in an endless wait of analytical paralysis backed only by the thief in their mind after their promises.
As far as I’m concerned this Team Beachbody opportunity is the best vehicle in the world to help us live a more healthy and fulfilling life. It took me just 90 days to totally transform my health and 2 1/2 years to transform my financial health forever. Just 90 days to set myself up for life long generational health absent of common relapse and 2 1/2 years to declare myself financially independent and never have to worry about money again, for life. Which, by the way, taking care of my health helped to give me the energy, the breath, and the vitality to go after my dreams!!
As for my personal belief this Team Beachbody opportunity is your golden ticket opportunity to being able to work hard and resolve to pay that price until all of your goals, dreams, and promises come true. You have the information now so it’s your responsibility what you do with it. No one here is going to ask you to sign up for this in this blog post. Because what I’ve found in my years of experience is that the BEST people to work with are those who actually take initiative because they understand the consequences of inaction. The worst partners to work with are those who need outside motivation every step of the way because they don’t understand the consequences of inaction.
If you want to truly become my partner to work with in both Personal Health and Personal Wealth then YOU be the one to Take Action without procrastination (The cornerstone of all poverty is procrastination) and reach out to me. Or if you need more information to make a decision ask me some questions so I can get the information you need.
P90X and Insanity Awesomeness Aging me Gracefully My Fountain of Youth!!
Good Morning everyone!!! This is long but YOUR worth it!
I was on the call last night facilitated by the AWESOME Barbie Decker with Monica and Dave Ward who are the newest and 13th Millionaires with Team Beachbody. What incredibly humble people! They do not consider themselves any different then any one of us. They contribute their position in Beachbody with be consistent daily with unwaivered faith in doing what they love to do. Monica was a successful Teacher and Dave was a successful Attorney when they started this. Dave tried to talk Monica out of it at first. They now have 4 or five multi diamond business centers and they say it all arrived by truly doing what they love and that is helping others. They never focused on the money only the people.
In listening to them I also found a true sense of keeping it real. Always work from where you are and completely focus in the moment. Dani Johnson(look her up on Facebook. Brilliant motivator!) talks about this to great extent. We are surrounded by greatness in this Beachbody Community but never get ahead of yourself. Do not try to jump ahead to quick. Work from where you are and build solid foundations.
Some of the highlights were:
Gym vs. joining Team Beachbody. The Gym can be a big scary place you drive by a lot and never really go in. When you do it can be intimidating and confusing with many fees that go along with guidance or coaching. Big $$$ for someplace that can be overly busy in the beginning of the year and inconvenient with a busy schedule. The % of failure with new gym memberships is very high. No accountability. With Beachbody you have the comfort of your own home with no lines or waiting time. You learn fitness, nutrition, success along with life skills. We give a plan, a path and a deadline requiring accountability from all sides. You also get the joy and fulfillment of a fantastic community of non stop support.
Peoples “Why” Not only is it important but is it even big enough? Dave Ward said if your “why” is to drive a Ferrari well, what is after that??? He said really that Ferrari is not important. People tend to set their “why” around “things” and those “things” really are not important in the big picture of life. The sacrifice has to be WORTH the “why” Their first focus was the fulfillment of family time. Having unlimited time to spend with their children fueled their success and everything else material, house, cars, vacations came but were secondary to their true “why”
Immerse in personal development daily and be completely consistent with that. Minimum of reading 10 pages of personal development a day. Dave and Monica both stressed that you must strive for personal fulfillment. It is imperative for without it you may achieve your goals but never really be happy. Funny Monica quoted from a book I am currently reading for the SECOND time! yes I re read books! Especially ones that hook me in the first few pages. This quote is also from one of my GREATEST mentors ever Tony Robbins and it goes like this…. “I have seen business moguls achieve their goals, but still live in frustration, worry and fear. What’s preventing these successful people from being happy? The answer is they have focused only on achievement and not on fulfillment. Extraordinary accomplishment does NOT guarantee extraordinary, joy, happiness, love and a sense of meaning.These to skill sets feed off each other and make me believe that success without fulfillment is failure”
That’s why it is not enough to just choose to be successful. You have to DIG deeper then that to find your core motivation, to activate your superpower (YES YOU HAVE ONE!) Your why-power! The book is The Compound Effect and this was from a 2009 Success Mag interview with the CEO Darren Hardy (also author of the book) and Tony.
They talked about excuses and responsibility. Simple break down of that is this, If you want 5 people in your Challenge Group and you have 4 and stop. Your making an excuse why you didn’t get 5. You did not take responsibility to get that 5th person. you did not make enough calls, talk to enough people, send out enough invites to get that 5th yes. Do what ever it take for as long as it take to get where you promised yourself you would be. you need to figure out where you want to be and go after it with unwaivering faith. Excuses are easy responsibility is tough but it pays off in the end.
They closed with this. Figure out what is standing in your way. Is it you??? Then figure out what you truly want and include fulfillment in that dream. What fulfills YOUR life? more time with the kids, volunteering, starting a foundation…What is it? Then decide how bad you want it and go get it. Action!
I hope you read through all of this. A lot Tom has already taught me but hearing different perspectives just plants the seeds deeper. Thanks Tom, you are a true blessing in my life and I am forever grateful. We can never get enough of a good thing in our lives. Embrace and surround yourselves with who you want to be like and it WILL happen! I wish each and every one of you your dreams and a fulfilled life of helping others
When you subject certain chemicals to intense heat, the chemicals will crystallize and form a completely new substance, a new composition in which the crystallization process is irreversible.
A lump of coal, for example, becomes a diamond under intense prolonged heat and pressure.
In the same way, you become a person of great strength by persevering in the crucible of intense difficulty until you finally succeed.
Each time you force yourself to persevere, rather than giving up, your character “crystallizes” at a new, higher level. Eventually, you reach the point where you become unstoppable…
… but no one starts out as a diamond.
Not every lump of coal will become a diamond. Some people quit before they succeed.
EVERYTHING is just feedback. The mistakes, the setbacks, the victories and the failures. If it’s all just feedback then EVERY experience is a stepping stone toward success.
Your DRIVING PHILOSOPHIES determines if your experiences are stepping stones toward success or rationale to quit and meet your end.
Just a note to tell u this:
It is ALLL YOUR fault !
yep,sure enough, it is !
Every pound I lost,
Every time I went for a walk when i really didn’t want to,
Every time I pushed myself to walk around the house when it was nasty outside,
Every time I pushed myself to move away from the computer and do SOMETHING physical,
Every time I walked around Wal-mart and did so for more than an hour
Every time I went to a buffet-style restaurant and made better choices
Every time I ate smaller meals
Every time I stopped when i was satisfied
Every time I tried on an outfit that I KNEW was too small for me (and it actually fit !!)
Every time i forced myself to clean house or to do something I really didn’t want to do
Every meal I ate,that I ate more veggies than meat/pasta.
Every time I stepped on the scale,weighed myself and saw for my own eyes, that the weight was going away,
Every time I felt my body and actually felt the weight gone.
Every time my hubby looked at me and asked if I was losing weight,
Every time my neighbors made notice that I was losing weight because my clothes were too big,
Every time I tried on my “fat” clothes and had to take in the elastic waistband,
Every time I tried on a shirt and it was looser than before.
Yep,Tom,
it really Is all YOUR FAULT !
yep,and you should be proud of yourself,too,Tom,for doing so.
Why ?
Because no one else has ever gave me the incentive to make me wanna lose weight,until meeting you and your challenge.
I am now at 219. i have not “seen” 219 since i got married,and that was over 15 years ago.
Thank you,Tom,for giving me the gift of life,and for giving me the hope and courage I needed to make that change myself.
THANK YOU !!!!
i hope this finds you happy and well,
your friend,
Tina
Whoever will have nothing to do with thorns, can never gather roses. – A Friend Named Adversity
The brook that flows over stones makes the sweetest music. – A Friend Named Adversity
If you remove the rocks, the brook will lose its song. – A Friend Named Adversity
Blessings thrive in afflictions’ soil. – A Friend Named Adversity
Trouble is only opportunity in work clothes. – A Friend Named Adversity
The difficulties of life are intended to make us better, not bitter. – A Friend Named Adversity
It isn’t the load that weights you down, it’s the way you carry it. – A Friend Named Adversity
The darkest clouds often bring the heaviest showers of blessing. – A Friend Named Adversity
Jesus is no security against life’s storms, but he is perfect security in them. – A Friend Named Adversity
Troubles are not sent to bother us but to better us. – A Friend Named Adversity
If we had no trials, there would be no triumphs. – A Friend Named Adversity
To get out of difficulty, we must go through it. – A Friend Named Adversity
When it gets dark enough you can see the stars. – A Friend Named Adversity
The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide. – A Friend Named Adversity
Trouble is to the triumphant spirit what turbulent water is to a sturdy boat. – A Friend Named Adversity
Prosperity makes friends, adversity tries them. – A Friend Named Adversity
Adversity is the way the great surgeon gives us a face-lift. – A Friend Named Adversity
God often digs wells of joy with the spade of sorrow and adversity. – A Friend Named Adversity
Tears are often the means by which we see God’s rainbow of promises. – A Friend Named Adversity
When life hands you a lemon, make lemonade. – A Friend Named Adversity
You will never be the person God wants you to be, if afflictions, trials, and disciplines are taken out of your life. – A Friend Named Adversity
Afflictions are but the shadow of God’s wings. – A Friend Named Adversity
No trouble can come so near that God is not nearer. – A Friend Named Adversity
Only God can change sunsets into sunrises. – A Friend Named Adversity
Adversity may sometimes get a Christian down, but only on his knees. – A Friend Named Adversity
Jesus spoke of Christianity as a banquet, but never as a picnic. – A Friend Named Adversity
God’s grace enables us to ‘face the music’ even when we don’t like the tune. – A Friend Named Adversity
One reason that the school of Christ is so tough is that you get the test first and the lesson later. – A Friend Named Adversity
Sufferings are to spiritual maturity as the chisel is to sculpture. – A Friend Named Adversity
True achievers have made adversity their friend. – A Friend Named Adversity
The very same adversity can make one bitter and another better. A thoughtful and prayerful study on how to face adversity can change one’s world. – A Friend Named Adversity
Beautiful Natural Flower Arrangement in the Desert Outside of Las Vegas, NV
This is the vehicle I’m using to be able to blow up my income, my health, my emotional wellness in an economy where everyone else is losing. Friends you should do this with me Immediately don’t you think?
I just wanted to share with you all this message from Brett Blake at BEACHBODY. Definitely some things to be really, really excited about. After you read below Join me in Team Beachbody http://teambeachbody.com/metalpalace
_________________________________________________________________________
Leaders,
Can I just tell you how bright our future is? Mr Jeff Hill joined us about a year ago and at the time we had around 300 employees. We now have more than 620 and are at a full sprint to hire more. In the Network, we have grown from less than 10% of company sales when I started in January 2010 to 30.9% in 2011 (that is incredible growth if you think about how bad the economy has been). We are well on our way to seeing the future that Carl has been driving toward — when Beachbody is primarily a network marketing company supported by a strong television presence.
We will be among the top 100 companies in the direct selling industry as we close out this year with sales considerably above $100 million — this during a year where I suspect (based on credible sources) that the industry will experience one of the worst declines in sales in its history.
We have attracted outstanding people to our team and have been able to choose who we want on our team (we’ve had more than a half a dozen CEOs of other direct selling companies apply for positions within the company this past year or so) and have not lost one person. We are more united in our vision — both within the network and between the network and the rest of the company. We have truly moved from good to great on the people side.
Carl’s product pipeline is stronger than ever before in our history. We have amazing plans to turn the BB Challenge into a unified marketing campaign that could blow the lid off the referral program, we are now working on a Coach infomercial, and we are extremely bullish about our ability to deliver significant improvements to the business opportunity in 2012 (both in your ability to earn and in the systems to support you).
Carl has put his money where is mouth is, investing more than $25 million in technology improvements that are no longer in the planning stage, but are actually under way with the first major supporting modules successfully deployed recently. The company is debt free and we are CASH rich. Never have I worked for a company willing to invest ‘whatever it takes’ to drive growth like Beachbody.
We are all taking on a heavy load now as we deal with competitors who want Coaches like you promoting their product and opportunity, AND as we undertake the task of further refining our business model and pioneering a “natural networking” model that has the potential of driving our future sales well into the billions.
Let’s not allow the weight of the tasks at hand allow us to take our eye of the bigger picture — which is bigger and brighter than any of us have contemplated to date.
I’m so impressed with the Coaches we’ve attracted and with your commitment and leadership. We’ve come along way, but we have hardly scratched the surface of our potential.
In 1992 I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia as I started having pains all over my body. Achy, and tired all the time. As the years went on with my new diagnosis the pains got worse and the fatigue got bad.
My Dr tried many medications and new medications came out and clinical trials to try and get my pain under control, yet nothing worked, and I hated feeling “drugged” all the time. I even… tried acupuncture, and massage therapy was excruciatingly painful. And well hypnosis didn’t work either.
In 2004 I started using a forearm crutch to assist me in walking. This was devastating because I used to be a competitive long distance swimmer and was so active all the time. And now I couldn’t even play with my kids.
There are some that say that surgery exacerbates fibromyalgia and I have had seven since 1999- 2009, and in 2007 I humbled myself and sat myself in a wheelchair for the days that the forearm crutch couldn’t help me because I couldn’t even stand up or sit down or have the strength to grasp the crutch. I used to crawl up and down the stairs.
In 2009 I convinced myself there had to be something out there that could help and all the research said was exercise.. and I thought how can I when I can barely walk on most days.
In February of 2010 I started a workout program and my coach suggested that I start drinking a shake called Shakeology. It would give me energy and help me loose weight and it had all this good nutrition. I said ok.. can’t hurt right?
Never did I ever imagine that my energy did come back! I was able to do more and longer workouts and didn’t have to rest 2-4 days in agony from working out.
But my number one dream and prayer had happened.. one day and I can’t remember when it happened… I woke up without a single ounce of pain! This was one of the single most happiest moments of my life! And since I started drinking Shakeology I have stopped taking all medication. No more pain medications, my mood was better, my energy was incredible. And NO FLAIR UPS!
In the fall of 2010 my boys who were entering 9th grade, and were on the cross country team in school… and I.. yes I was the assistant coach of Boys Cross Country!!. It wasn’t that long ago that I was in a wheelchair and I was outside everyday in all of the nasty fall weather of Central New York running!
Today I can play with my kids and I am an any day soon to be grandma.. I can run in the fields, and on the roads of the countryside, and today I workout with high impact cardio workouts and muscle building.. and do 5 sets of 10 pullups.
The nutrition and the quality of the shakes is undeniable and unsurpassed. And everyday I am blessed for the quality of life I have now… and its all because I drink Shakeology .. it literally has been life changing. And to think where I would be if I never tried it…. still in pain 🙁
Thank you for being part of the Beachbody Coaching Team!
You’re tracking calories, working out each day, then bam! For a week or two, the scale refuses to budge . . . and you realize you’ve hit a dreaded weight loss plateau. Now what?
Even though it’s completely normal to hit a snag in your fitness journey, a perceived setback like this can send even the most dedicated dieter off course, away from healthy eating and toward cookies, cake, and pizza. But you can be strong and start getting back on the weight-loss track again. Try at least one of the following techniques, and there’s a good chance you’ll burst through your plateau in no time.
Here are five important things to know about hydration and exercise: 1. Zigzag your daily calorie intake. In theory, you’ve got to eat less to lose more, but this isn’t always the case. Sometimes you just have to shake things up. Here’s one way to do it: If your average daily intake is 1,400 calories, try dropping to 1,200 one day, going up to 1,800 the next day, and then dropping back to 1,400. The idea is to keep your metabolism guessing. There’s no magic number that works for everyone, so you’ll have to experiment until you find the right calorie levels for you.
According to Beachbody Director of Results Steve Edwards, what happens when you zigzag is that you force your body to choose how many calories it needs to recover from the rigors of your exercise program.
“Most people who hit a plateau are undereating. If you are indeed undereating, adding calories for a few days, then lowering them again, will help you force your body into a hormonal response that will not only help you break out of a plateau, but—as you learn to recognize the signals—will teach you how much food you should be eating.” 2. Switch up your exercise routine. If you do the same workout each day, eventually it can start to become less challenging, and (unfortunately) less effective. If you push yourself to new levels of strength or exhaustion, you’ll almost certainly see a shift. Here are some ways you can challenge your body:
-Swap your jog for a bike ride.
-Try weights with your cardio routine. (ChaLEAN Extreme® or RevAbs® can help you do this.)
-Add intervals of high intensity to really make you sweat. (INSANITY® is a great workout for this.)
-Drop to the floor for 10 push-ups right now!
The idea is to try something different. According to Edwards, “The better you get at something, the easier it becomes. That’s why we’re always telling you to add more weight as you get stronger, and to move faster and jump higher as our programs progress. But it’s also why all of our programs have phases of training. As your body adapts to stimulus, you need to change that stimulus in order to keep results happening.” 3. Eat some almonds. Almonds are a great snack, plus there’s some research that indicates that they can help you burn fat. That’s because they contain fiber and fatty acids—the good kind of fat that helps you lose weight. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity compared two groups of people who ate a 1,000-calorie-a-day diet. As part of their daily diet, one group ate 3 ounces of almonds every day. The other group ate a mix of complex carbs. What happened? The group that ate the almonds lost more weight.
So next time you grab a snack, try a small handful of almonds, or as Edwards says, “Any nut, really. While almonds are one of the better nuts, all of them have a similar nutritional profile and make excellent snacks. That research probably would have turned out similarly if they’d used walnuts or filberts or whatever.” 4. Get more sleep. This may seem like the opposite of number 2, but the truth is is that you could be training too hard, which is about the quickest way to hit a weight loss plateau, because an over-trained body holds on to weight as if it were starving to death. There’s no better way to test this than to try and sleep more. The reason is that your body recovers much more quickly from exercise while it’s asleep, and if you’re burning the midnight oil while trying to do INSANITY, you could easily plateau from lack of recovery time.
In a recent study at the University of Chicago Medical School, researchers found that during a period when study participants were deprived of sleep, they metabolized glucose less effectively. Additionally, they had higher levels of the hormone cortisol, which has been shown to impair memory, increase insulin resistance, and slow recovery in athletes.
“There’s a good reason why five-time Tour de France winner Eddy Merckx said, ‘The Tour is won in bed,'” says Edwards. Your body’s recovery response during deep sleep is only rivaled by performance-enhancing drugs. When you’re on the borderline of overtraining, getting more sleep is the first thing anyone should try.” 5. Relax. Believe it or not, the one big thing besides diet and exercise that can cause you to plateau is stress.
When you’re stressed, your body sends out higher levels of the hormone cortisol that, as stated in number 4, can encourage your body to hang on to fat. “Cortisol is actually a performance-enhancing hormone,” says Edwards. “But it’s gotten a bad rap because we’ve begun living our lives at too high a volume. Cortisol is released at times when the body is in an emergency state. It increases performance, but only over a short period of time. When cortisol is released and forced into action at regular intervals, it causes your body to wear down and switch to more drastic means of survival, like holding on to excess amounts of body fat. Your life shouldn’t feel like one big emergency. As a society, we need to learn to be more tranquilo, as the Spanish say.”
We get stressed for many reasons, almost all of which are influenced by the society around us. One of the best ways to combat stress is to get some alone time to chill. If you’re the type who can’t let go, try some forced relaxation techniques, of which yoga seems to be one of the most effective. There’s something special about the mind/body interaction of yoga that forces a relaxed state even from the most stressed of us.
If you feel you need a lot of help, dig into an intense course, like P90X Yoga X. For others, something lighter, like Yoga Booty Ballet® Pure and Simple Yoga, will do the trick. If you’re not into yoga, then consider at least adding some stretching into your schedule. Most of Beachbody’s programs have at least one stretching session. TurboFire® even has two!
Now are you ready to break through that plateau?
Compliments of the Free Team Beachbody newsletter. Sign up for a free membership and get these extremely
Or, “How Do I Really Know If This is Worth the Money When Everything Else Costs Less?”
There are many “protein shakes” and meal replacements that are less expensive than Shakeology. But comparisons – based on the simple “protein shake” or even “health shake” are usually off the mark because of intangibles like quality of sourcing, efficacy, and the delicate balance of incredible health benefits and delicious flavor that is unique to Shakeology.
When we developed Shakeology, our goal was to fill a void in the marketplace where the benefits of the shake would live up to the promise of the line “The Healthiest Meal of the Day.” Shakeology was designed for people who want more than protein, and for people who really expect the health benefits being represented by the ingredients on the label. With Shakeology not only do you get what you pay for, but because it tastes so good and the attention to every detail is so complete, you get more than you pay for.
To really know whether a product measures up to Shakeology, you need to keep some things in mind:
How Much is “Enough”?
We are proud of Shakeology’s 70+ ingredients. Other shakes will trumpet the number of ingredients they have too. But are the ingredients they are counting actually good for you?
Are they derived from whole food sources? They are in Shakeology! Too often the “magic ingredient” has been isolated from the enzymes and phytonutrients which actually are what is needed to make the “magic ingredient” effective when consumed.
And does the competition formulate for the synergistic benefits between the ingredients, or just slap together whatever is hot in the media? Shakeology was specially formulated for the collection of ingredients to work together like a symphony; this combination is so effective some people report dramatic benefits within the first week. We’re not just talking about weight loss here, we’re talking meaningful health benefits; regularity, energy, vitality!
Other supplements point to one or two individual ingredients and build a “story” around their super food attributes… that’s like saying you can put Michael Jordan on a team of amateurs and still have a championship caliber team. Shakeology’s specially selected ingredients work like the dream team, all working together so YOU get the health benefits from the healthiest meal of the day.
Vanilla?
If the shake you’re considering is vanilla, how do they achieve vanilla flavoring? Our research indicates that it is impossible for the superfoods, adaptogen herbs, anti-oxidants, phytonutrients and digestive enzymes to co-exist and taste good in a vanilla flavor, unless the vanilla flavor is achieved chemically and artificially. (It’s the “dirty little secret” of the flavoring industry even though labeling guidelines still allow this artificial flavoring to be called “natural vanilla flavoring”) Other companies are willing to use that labeling loophole for their benefit. But not Shakeology.
So here’s the question; are you drinking the shake so you can enjoy vanilla, or so you can get the incredible health benefits from a shake that doesn’t taste like a “health drink”? We call Shakeology “the healthiest meal of the day” for a reason, and we plan on doing what it takes to live up to that.
Protein:
When it comes to comparing protein quality, you need to look closely to see the truth:
“Say NO to soy”
Does the competition use ANY soy in their formulation? Soy protein contains estrogen-mimicking compounds that can interfere with your hormones, and on top of that most of the soy in the marketplace is GMO (genetically modified), two important reasons why we don’t use soy in Shakeology.
It is our general opinion that many people are consuming too much soy in the pursuit of health – and thus perhaps producing too much estrogen which can cause many adverse issues in the body. Do a little research of your own on the topic, and you will be as shocked as we are at what you will learn about soy.
Likewise, if a company is promoting that their protein is “more absorbable”, be careful. Protein sources like Whey Protein Hydrolysate have been shown to trigger a much higher insulin response in the body. That’s not an outcome we would tolerate in any health shake, much less Shakeology.
Our protein source is whey protein isolate, which is more than 90 percent pure protein. Plus, Shakeology is loaded with digestive enzymes-and lactase, that’s the enzyme that breaks down lactose and is found in over-the-counter products like Lactaid®. Don’t confuse whey protein concentrate with “isolate”. Whey protein concentrate is the least pure form of whey protein made. The benefits of “isolate” vs. “concentrate” is that the fat has been removed to achieve “isolate”. The fat in whey protein is what carries toxins consumed by the animal. That’s the reason Shakeology can be used by so many people who are lactose-intolerant – because those toxins have been removed through the isolate process.
We also look at the source of every single protein batch that shows up at the manufacturer. If we find the manufacturer is cutting a corner by bringing in protein from farms that use hormones or are ok feeding inorganic materials to their cattle, we tell them to find another source. This is the kind of scrutiny that other companies just don’t give their product, and it’s the kind of attention to detail which doesn’t show on the label. (But it does show in how you feel when you consume the product over the long term!)
Glycemic index tested…
In terms of sugar, many protein shakes have 1g of sugar or less. This is because they are using artificial chemical sweeteners (check the label for sucralose, aspartame, or sugar alcohols). Shakeology’s small amounts of sugar comes from natural sources which are easily processed by the body and in fact has been tested and certified by an independent lab to have a Low Glycemic Index of 24 – that’s lower than most fruits (an apple is 36 and an orange is 43)!
What is not in the base, they may suggest you add later:
Other shakes don’t cost as much as Shakeology at first glance, but they also don’t contain the full profile of vitamins and minerals or whole-food sources of anti-oxidants, phytonutrients, adaptogen herbs, prebiotics, probiotics or digestive enzymes. We’ve seen competitors make you buy a separate vitamin pack for $150 per month! And if you want chocolate flavoring you have to buy a separate flavor packet for an extra $25 a month. If you want metabolism boosting effects and appetite control, you have to buy 2 additional products at $50 each. Once you add it up, this is hardly a “good deal” and it is usually questionably healthy..
To achieve the benefits of Shakeology we’ve seen competitors charge between $250 and $335 per month! $120 doesn’t seem expensive when you realize all of the benefits Shakeology delivers.
SUMMARY:
Formula: 70+ of the healthiest ingredients from whole food sources from around the world (including anti-oxidants, phytonutrients, adaptogen herbs, prebiotics, digestive enzymes, vitamins and minerals VS. protein, fillers, artificial coloring, and isolated glamour ingredients
Winner: Shakeology
Protein Source: Shakeology’s 15g of pure whey protein isolate plus 2g from plant sources VS soy, hydrolyzed whey and/or whey concentrate blend.
Winner: Shakeology
Taste: Rich chocolate or greenberry Shakeology Vs. chemically derived artificial-flavored competition?
Winner: Shakeology
Price: $120 for Shakeology VS. Oops! It’s impossible to compare lesser formulations on price. But if you add in all the separate vitamins and flavoring agents the other companies ask you to buy to (try and) match the benefits and nutritional content of Shakeology, you would easily spend over $300 every month – that’s 2 ½ times the cost of Shakeology! Sure, chocolate milk is cheaper than Shakeology. A vanilla soy shake can be cheaper than Shakeology – until you try to add what Shakeology’s got, and match what Shakeology can do for you, and then it’s no contest.
Winner: Shakeology
The best comparison is results. From weight loss and reduction in cravings, to regularity, to healthier cholesterol levels, to energy, to an overall sense of well being… We give a bottom-of-the-bag money-back guarantee on Shakeology because we KNOW people will be amazed at how they feel. Shakeology is the winner by a total knock out!
Ingredients
1/3 cup small pasta shells, uncooked
1 garlic clove
1/4 onion, yellow
1/4 bell pepper, green, medium
1 cup spinach, fresh, chopped
4 olives, black
1 teaspoon olive oil, extra virgin
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce, reduced sodium
3/4 cup beans, white kidney – cannellini, cooked/canned, drained
1/4 cup garbanzo beans (canned or fresh cooked), drained
1/8 teaspoon oregano, dried
Preparation
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
Wash and peel garlic and onion. Wash and remove membrane from green pepper.
Wash and chop spinach. Mince garlic, slice onion, slice green pepper, and chop olives.
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sauteé garlic in oil until lightly golden.
Add the onion, pepper, olives, spaghetti sauce, beans, spinach, and oregano. Cook until onions are tender and spinach is wilted.
Combine the pasta with the sauce when ready to serve.
Nutritional Information
Calories 570
Calories from Fat 120
Total Fat 13 g
Saturated Fat 1.5 g
Cholesterol < 5 mg
Sodium 260 mg
Total Carbohydrate 93 g
Dietary Fiber 9 g
Sugars 14 g
Protein 20 g
Vitamin A 80%
Vitamin C 60%
Calcium 40%
Iron 40%
Recipe is courtesy of Team Beachbody Recipe database and meal plan.
This is VERY Exciting news!! You can INVEST in your Health at a very generous discount without sacrificing an ounce of quality in that tiny investment.
I’m talking about the Beachbody Challenge Packs!!!
EVEN BETTER… Purchasing a Challenge pack qualifies you to join one of my private Beachbody Challenge groups for DAILY accountability, ensuring that you make THIS TIME count!!!
But wait… there’s MORE! (Haha) You will save between $30 – $50 off retail price plus an additional $20 on FREE Shipping!
The NEW Beachbody Challenge Packs will be available as of NOVEMBER 1st! In the mean time email me at [email protected] or on my facebook (http://facebook.com/tombirkenmeyer) and ask me to let you know when these packs are available. You can also ask me any questions you may have.
To sign up and have me as your assigned Team Beachbody Coach, go HERE NOW
Mother of Two
When you are Ready and WILLING to FULLY commit to growing into your best self I am ready to help get you there.
Losing that last 10 – 15 lbs! Insight from Steve Edwards, Beachbody’s fitness/nutrition expert! Here are some tips to help your weight loss:
1. When you FIRST GET UP in the morning… do NOT eat… but instead do 20-30 minutes of LOW IMPACT cardio. This will help your fat store burn more efficient. Then eat about 30 minutes later!
2. Eat every 2-3 hours WITHOUT FAIL! Set a timer if you must!
3. Be on a healthy and clean eating plan. Eating too many or too few calories can keep your body from losing weight. You can use Livestrong.com or myfitnesspal.com to track your food until you get a handle on a routine. There is also the team beachbody club.
4. DRINK LOTS OF WATER!! This will help flush any toxins or fat from your body!
5. Try to do a workout 5-6 times a week for at least 45 minute to an hour.
6. I HIGHLY recommend Shakeology!! I also HIGHLY recommend the recovery formula but ONLY for really REALLY intense workouts!! Shakeology EVERYONE can drink no matter the workouts.
7. Be patient!
A while back, at the entrance of a gym, there was a picture of a very thin and beautiful woman. The caption was “This summer, do you want to be a mermaid or a whale?”
The story goes, a woman (of clothing size unknown) answered the following way:
“Dear people, whales are always surrounded by friends (dolphins, seals, curious humans), they are sexually active and raise their children with great tenderness.
They entertain like crazy with dolphins and eat lots of prawns. They swim all day and travel to fantastic places like Patagonia, the Barents Sea or the coral reefs of Polynesia.
They sing incredibly well and sometimes even are on cds. They are impressive and dearly loved animals, which everyone defend and admires.
Mermaids do not exist.
But if they existed, they would line up to see a psychologist because of a problem of split personality: woman or fish?
They would have no sex life and could not bear children.
Yes, they would be lovely, but lonely and sad.
And, who wants a girl that smells like fish by his side?
Without a doubt, I’d rather be a whale.
At a time when the media tells us that only thin is beautiful, I prefer to eat ice cream with my kids, to have dinner with my husband, to eat and drink and have fun with my friends.
We women, we gain weight because we accumulate so much wisdom and knowledge that there isn’t enough space in our heads, and it spreads all over our bodies.
We are not fat, we are greatly cultivated.
Every time I see my curves in the mirror, I tell myself: “How amazing am I ?! ”
(The girl on the picture is French model Tara Lynn)
– Author Unknown
Over the years, I’ve been teaching kids about a simple but powerful concept: the Ant Philosophy. I think everybody should study ants. They have an amazing four-part philosophy.
Here is the first part: Ants never quit. That’s a good philosophy. If they’re headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they’ll look for another way. They’ll climb over. They’ll climb under. They’ll climb around. They keep looking for another way. What a neat philosophy-to never quit looking for a way to get where you’re supposed to go.
Second, ants think winter all summer. That’s an important perspective. You can’t be so naive as to think summer will last forever. So ants gather their winter food in the middle of summer.
Desert Sage
An ancient story says, “Don’t build your house on the sand in the summer.” Why do we need that advice? Because it is important to think ahead. In the summer, you’ve got to think storm. You’ve got to think rocks as you enjoy the sand and sun.
The third part of the Ant Philosophy is that ants think summer all winter. That is so important. During the winter, ants remind themselves, “This won’t last long; we’ll soon be out of here.” And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they’ll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day. They can’t wait to get out.
And here’s the last part of the ant philosophy. How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter? All he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the “all-you-possibly-can” philosophy.
Wow, what a great philosophy to have-the ant philosophy. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.
Listen to Jim Rohn’s presentation of the Ant Philosophy recorded live. Though delivered in 1999, The Weekend Seminar is still as relevant today as ever! Jim Rohn shares the ideas, strategies and proven principles that helped him achieve mega-success in both business and in life for more than 40 years. This complete two-day seminar includes 12 powerful CDs! Click here for more details.Also available as an MP3 download!
In august of 2007 I was broke, jobless, income-less, scared to death of ending up homeless, bad physical health etc.. In august of 2007 I signed up for the Team Beachbody Coach opportunity. Almost all of my friends who have signed up with me waited 2 or 3 years to sign up with me in my Team Beachbody Business. Some of them will sign up 4 years later, 5, and so on… None of them signed up with me my first 8 or 9 months of business. Most coaches will quit before they give this a chance to work. Not me. The majority will and the majority are broke and out of shape year after year because they are not in it to win it.
My friends who sign up with me see me achieve so much just based on what I’ve shared in facebook the past couple years. Sometimes a friend will call me up just to ask me if I’m still doing that Beachbody “thing” and how it’s going for me. Once I tell them I’m still in it YEARS later and business is booming in the year of the official recession my income increased over 700% despite the economy some of them sign up. There are other variables involved differing from person to person but largely they were waiting to see if I was in it to win it or not! Can you imagine if I told them I quit? I would STINK to high heaven and every ex coach who has a dream experiences it.
Big moral here..
Coaches who get in for a lil while to “try it out” and then quit if they don’t experience enough success quickly enough literally rob themselves of the respect of their friends and miss BIG opportunity to build a big business as time rolls on. Quitting stinks I’m glad I didn’t quit my first couple years when I was virtually a failure or I would have missed my freedom. I will never have to worry about money, the economy, time, and all those problems everyone else experiences stemming from time, money, and personal freedom constraints. I lifted myself out of poverty and achieved this. There was no special deal. I paid the price for a couple years. Those couple years were going to pass by anyway so was it worth it? YES!!!!!! Most people do not think so and that’s why most people are broke, out of shape, and falling short of the promises they made to themselves and to their families.
Most people in my shoes would have quit the first two months let alone the first two years of little to nothing to show for. I honestly and humbly have to pat myself on the back here. I hope all of you take a moment to pat yourselves on the back to when life rewards you for doing something most people will not do 🙂 And then share it with us and the rest of your support team who nurtures you to grow so we can pat you on the back to! If you don’t have friends who nurture you to grow then you definitely need new friends Immediately!
If you’re actively building a dream remember the moral of this story especially if you haven’t made your way over the initial business “hump” yet….. Your friends, family, new friends you make along the way, all who do not make the commitment to come with you yet are just testing you…. Waiting to see if you’re in it to win it or not. No one wants to follow a loser so stay in it to win it! Do NOT put yourself in a position to where they are ready but you’ve already quit. I’ve been told horror stories of ex Team Beachbody coaches who literally threw up once they realized what they threw away by quitting.
Does being significant in other peoples lives turn you on? Does finding success by being significant fuel your passions?? In my Team Beachbody Business it is not possible to be successful unless you have significance in other peoples lives. If that speaks to your heart write / call me I want you in my business. Take pride in the fact that you find success in this business by becoming significant in other peoples lives. It’s a wonderful concept get involved in this business, embrace it, and share it with everyone 🙂
This is why I read and I tell everyone they should to! This is why I’m relentless in my own pursuit of enlightenment, knowledge, and being of service to others. This is why I tell EVERYONE they should be relentless in these things to! We’d all be MUCH happier, healthier, more fulfilled human beings.
My relentless search for enlightenment through reading lead me to this gem by Lindsay Matway. Lindsay has a story of BIG triumphs over ENORMOUS challenges and set backs in her life. Naturally when I learned of her story I wanted to find out what the heck she is doing to achieve so much starting at a place so challenging and scary! This is a woman who was $400,000 in debt and climbing still, her new baby was born pre mature with no health insurance, she owned a house that had depreciated by $100,000 since the time she purchased and was starting to fall apart, faced with bankruptcy proceedings, not happy with her physical shape, struggling intensely in every way possible etc… She’s turned all that around, shes THRIVING, and shes still setting bigger goals and achieving them!! She’s a true inspiration to give people permission to let their own lights shine no matter how tough things are.
A short but SWEET read by Lindsay Matway now that I’ve edified the heck out of her enjoy:
“The pursuit of HAPPINESS is ALWAYS linked to being of SERVICE to others! Ask yourself, “How can I be of service?” instead of “How can I find happiness” and I promise you happiness with FIND YOU! Spend your life experiencing the beauty of GIVING BACK and your cup will ALWAYS runneth over! Give yourself the gift of GREAT HEALTH with the added bonus of a BOMBSHELL BODY! We know not what we are capable of until we PUSH past our comfort zones and force down the mental blocks that hold so many of us back in life! We are ALL capable of losing weight and being physically, mentally, and spiritually fit. YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL! It is my hope that through sharing my own journey, I might somehow be able to assist you in breaking down that first imaginary wall that is holding you back at this moment in your life! Live inspired and you will give others permission to let their light shine too!” – Lindsay Matway
A wonderful article for anyone to read for some really good clean pure inspiration to feel good about themselves and rejuvenate their youth! Only a 2 minute read but a potent one better than a cup of regular coffee 😉
There was a time when you were five years old,
and you woke up full of awesome.
You knew you were awesome.
You loved yourself.
You thought you were beautiful,
even with missing teeth and messy hair and mismatched socks inside your grubby sneakers.
You loved your body, and the things it could do.
You thought you were strong.
You knew you were smart.
Do you still have it?
The awesome.
Did someone take it from you?
Did you let them?
Did you hand it over, because someone told you weren’t beautiful enough, thin enough, smart enough, good enough?
Why the hell would you listen to them?
Did you consider they might be full of shit?
Wouldn’t that be nuts, to tell my little girl below that in another five or ten years she might hate herself because she doesn’t look like a starving and Photoshopped fashion model?
Or even more bizarre, that she should be sexy over smart, beautiful over bold?
Are you freaking kidding me?
Look at her. She is full of awesome.
You were, once. Maybe you still are. Maybe you are in the process of getting it back.
All I know is that if you aren’t waking up feeling like this about yourself, you are really missing out.
An elderly Cherokee Native American was teaching his grandchildren about life…He said to them, “A fight is going on inside me, it is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One wolf is evil—he is fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, competition, superiority, and ego. The other is good—he is joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, friendship, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.This same fight is going on inside you, and inside every other person, too.”They thought about it for a minute, and then one child asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win, Grandfather?” The Elder simply replied, “The one you feed.”
There are countless real life parallels you can draw from this story. What a wise story!! Everyone should know this story and think about it. Let it stimulate the mind and then let it fuel some daily action for you to take more control over your own life!
The parallel that I thought of right away is the battle of sickness vs health going on in our bodies. This battle is on going 24/7 and will never stop until life stops. Our body innately wants us to be healthy in this push shove war fare. We sabotage our own self interest every time we eat badly. The body asks for a banana and we send it a coca cola or a fast food “value” meal or both! When you do that you are feeding the “evil wolf” and that evil wolf WILL get stronger and stronger until it gets YOU! Sickness and disease in our bodies sits there, contained, quietly waiting for health to get weak. As soon as sickness and disease sees a vulnerability in health because of how poorly we feed our bodies then sickness and disease moves in and starts to gain power in our bodies! Case in point: we eat more poorly than ever before in our history and we are more disease riddled than ever before in our history. The only way to win this struggle is to get involved, cooperate with the positive things going on inside our bodies and see if we can’t help out in this push shove match. This battle has been going on in our bodies since we were created and it’s going to continue! We’ve got to fight this battle our entire life which is exactly why if your not doing something you can sustain for the rest of your then it doesn’t matter how you’re helping your own self interest. You can’t just sit on the sidelines, cross your fingers, and hope for the best. That’s a terrible philosophy to have! You’ve gotta get off the sidelines and in the game! See where you can cooperate with the positive and see if you can’t help out in this struggle. There is no other way! If someone tries to tell you there is another way just take this magic pill and you’ll be fine then you’ve gotta have some backbone and say no! You’re wrong! This is fundamental stuff and fundamentals are old! It’s existed for thousands of years and will continue to exist so long as there is life on earth. Magic pills don’t exist you’ve gotta reject that whole idea and not be suckered into it!
Eat good, drink your Shakeology, stimulate your mind and body, do these things every day and you can keep sickness and disease controlled and contained into a very small corner. It’s either cooperate with the positive things going on in your body or live your life in anguish. There is no other way!
This is one of the best blogs I’ve ever read. It’s a very quick easy read I recommend anyone to read it who’s just interested in becoming a better version of themselves. It’s honest tough love.
I got a note from a coach who did the amazing; she lost 50lbs! But she is not in shape to do X2 because she has another 100lbs to lose… so what’s the next move? Looks like she is thinking of quitting the business.
Am I talking to myself on these phone calls?
This business is not about P90X or P90X2. This is not about who can get skinny. This is not about being ripped. I am not ripped. Should I quit?
This business is about helping people achieve their goals to lead healthy fulfilling lives. That’s it.
You can inspire people from a wheelchair. You can inspire people by showing them how you plan your eating so you are healthier. You can inspire people simply by your refusal to quit.
Or you can feel the resistance, and give up. You can let the rope slip out of your hands and slide back into the darkness that is your fear, owning past mediocrity as if it was your present, and let your own inner demons run the show, demons that you’ve picked up over a lifetime of other people telling you that you aren’t good enough.
For once in your life, shut that crap out. Put your effort at getting past it, not quitting! When will you see that nothing is holding you back, but YOU and your willingness to work for it?!
Even if you say to yourself “I know it’s my fault, I should have tried harder”, that doesn’t change things for you. You don’t have to resign to “I should have tried harder” and feel righteous that you copped to a weakness. Screw that… Just. Try. Harder.
Step one to trying harder: Don’t quit. Ever.
Baseless insecurity wants to run our lives. But don’t you dare let it run yours. I need you. I need you to see past the ego, past the ideal body, past the competitions and promotions. I need you to see the amazing work we are doing at motivating people to get healthy. Every. Single. Coach. Counts. Top coach? Cool concept and great show at Summit, but not more important than any other coach who is willing to try to help one more person engage in a healthier lifestyle.
I need you to not quit. And guess what? YOU need you to not quit.
So really, come on now, lighten up for a second, get some perspective, and suck it up. Be tougher than you used to be. Recommit right now. Right now is when you define yourself. Right now is when you can show yourself who is the boss.
Strength is not required when things are easy, strength is required when things are challenging. Now is when we need your strength. Show yourself that you are stronger than you thought. (And you know who you are)
Beautiful Mountainous Desert outside of Las Vegas, NV
There are individuals in my Team Passion as well as myself who are having enormous success in designing the life of our dreams through our individual Team Beachbody Businesses.
Those of us building a business, making money, helping people get healthy, are completing assignments consistently and paying a price of RESOLVE UNTIL becoming successful. Most people with the stated goal of building a business to meet a need in their lives are not building a business instead they’re disappearing, not completing assignments, lacking consistency, lacking RESOLVE, they’re not communicating regularly with their support, they’re not making any money, and not helping anyone change their lives including their own.
This does not mean they’re bad people or unlikeable in any way. I happen to like most people very much. It just means that they don’t understand how lucrative they are yet. If they really knew how lucrative they are in ANY economy I know they’d consistently commit themselves to fail over and over again UNTIL they are successful. To “fall off” even if it’s just temporary to me means they have No Clue what they’re robbing themselves of, yet.
If you personally fall into that LARGER category of business owners (or non business owners) not building a business then get in direct touch with your support IMMEDIATELY and ask for some assignments. Then be consistent. RESOLVE you will do it until you are successful without falling off the wagon and taking breaks etc… Falling short of that you most certainly will not build a business that will set you free to design the life of your dreams.
Growth is reserved for those who have a basic comprehension of opportunity to get EVERYTHING you’ve ever wanted and then a commitment to RESOLVE to pay the price of Change until you are Successful. Everyone else gets a dead business or dreams that die with you that ONLY YOU can give Life to. Both sides of that fence are being demonstrated and VALIDATED in our own team passion group that I founded and in life in general in and outside of a business.
I hope this turns on a light bulb for you in your mind so that everything can change beginning with a change in your mind.
Let’s ALL GROW TOGETHER INSTEAD OF JUST SOME OF US! Join the individuals who are already building BIG businesses 🙂
If you’d like some information about My Team Passion to see if it would be a good fit for you in meeting a need that you have please get in touch with me as soon as possible.
Who said you need money to make money?? This is the ultimate myth buster if you’re completely broke prepare to be liberated to make a fortune. If you have a heart beat and some conscious thought then you have enough resources to make money. If you’re reading this then you have a big ole surplus of resources you need to make money. It does not matter if you have not a single dollar to your name with zero income the fact you’re reading this is proof positive that you have much more than just a heart beat and some conscious thought. What more do you need to start developing yourself from where you’re honestly at to start making money??
If you’re going to start a legal business the old adage is probably true no matter what you need money to make money. But who says you have to start with a business to make money? Think outside the box! Begin to take massive different action to developing yourself Immediately! You’re broke you should not be putting this off another single day! Procrastination is the cornerstone of ALL poverty! Your life depends on YOU doing something Different that’s more in line with the things that YOU want so stop killing yourself and take massive immediate action today!
If you have not a dollar to your name then let something else be a stepping stone to getting the money you need to make a financial investment or to start your own business. And starting your own business that earns you a passive income that grows and grows over time is THEE single most smartest thing you can do even if you can’t do it YET have your eye on that ball.
MAKE MONEY WITHOUT MONEY HERE IT IS…
Gotta bike? Rent it out! Do you have a talent or a skill people would pay money for? Go to any big city in America and you will see street performers of many kinds from musicians to card tricks to puppet shows! Can you perform manual labor? Offer to do housework for money! These are just a few ways to make money without having any money.
When I was broke I put myself out there to do any kind of yard work or house work for only $10 an hour. I also have a talent I developed for playing guitar so I tought guitar lessons for $35 per hour sessions. Between those two things I made enough to scrape by and buy my own business which later earned me a big ole fortune. My financial starting point was $zero. I didn’t respond to my $zero income by giving up while citing the old adage of needing money to make money. My starting point was my starting point, I respected it, and I actually got started then followed through with it. It doesn’t matter where you’re starting point is. It might influence HOW or WHERE you get started but in terms of getting started it doesn’t matter if you’re starting point is $million, $100, $1, or $zero where you end up is not determined by where you start. Where you end up is determined by if you actually get started or not and then if you see it through or not, period!
Don’t have a dollar, a skill, a service or a product that anyone would spend money on? Then your starting point is personal development. EVERYONE no matter how great they are should always engage in daily personal growth and development until the heart stops beating and body turns cold. But if you have not a single thing to offer that anyone would pay money for then your only starting point is personal growth and development. You must simply become more valuable to the marketplace via personal growth and development. How do you make more money or ANY money in the market place? You become more valuble to the market place! The more valuable you become to the market place the more money you make!
What’s the difference between someone who makes $5 an hour and $500 an hour? One is a lot more valuable than the other to the market place. So the key is to learn how to work harder on yourself than you do on your job because that’s how you become more valuable. The late great Jim Rohn taught me that in an audio CD. I use Jim Rohns material more than anyone else to become more valuable as I work harder on myself than I do my job. And I’m living proof positive right here validating it’s the honest to god truth. And anyone can do it the information is free to build your value in the market place so you can make more money. Not all of the information is free. If you have not a dollar to your name can you get a library card at your local library? YES!!! How much is a library card at your local library?? It’s FREE! How EASY is FREE? It’s EASY!
“It Doesn’t get Any Easier than Free!!” – Jim Rohn
The wealth of the world is at your local library. You can learn how to change anything you want without spending a dollar to get that information all you have to do is go get it. But 97% of the population can’t be bothered with it. They find it easier to complain about their job, the economy, politics, and whatever else is going on in their lives that they are not very happy with. It’s the 3% who’ve walked away from the 97% and lead drastically different life styles. Both patterns of human behavior VERY starkly validating each respective life style. Jim Rohn gave me very good advice when he said to walk away from the 97%. I amended that to RUN AS FAST AS I CAN Away from the 97%. I didn’t want to be like them philosophically. Many of them are very nice likable people but in terms of the marketplace they are not very valuable and I don’t want to be broke or be complacent with “just getting by”. I’m not down with that so I RAN AS FAST AS I COULD Away from the 97% philosophically. Since then I’ve upgraded and am buying books to discover even more of lifes treasures. But remember this friends it all started at my respective starting place which for me happened to be $zero.
All of us are born with massive potential in our abilities and our talents. With a big enough dream that out weighs our biggest fears we can do whatever it takes to develop our abilities and our talents to move closer toward our massive potential and get everything we’ve ever wanted.
Let me give you an example of the kind of people I find inspiring.
I witness lots of people hit HARD by the economy just as all of you witness I’m sure. The particular lady I witnessed in this example I’ve seen before in a few others but it’s very rare and I’m so inspired by them there are no words. She said it’s not the fault of the economy that her income shrunk. She blames herself for not owning her income. She decided to OWN IT finally. I believe her success in owning her own income and her own life has just been assured. Time just has to roll out the deal and then she WILL declare financial independence! What a breath of fresh air!! She walked away from most people blaming the economy for their hardships. Shes on the path to setting herself FREE. The belief of “it’s the economy” is 100% self inflicted popular head trash. If you don’t want to be like them you must walk, or in my case, RUN away as FAST as you can!
Most people disagree and find it easier to give away there power to whatever it is they are blaming for there life not turning out the way they wanted it to. I’ve found the ones fighting against ownership over their own income, their own destiny, and their own life lead a drastically different, broke, lifestyle. No judgement here just a stark observation.
Now I know what some of you are thinking… “oh Tom I’m just too old to start building my own value, I’m not old enough, I don’t have the motivation, it’s not what my parents taught me, I have a boil on my butt etc..” At least you and I can finally agree your problem is not the economy but an inside job in your own mind. But guess what? The solution is also an inside job in your own mind 😉 Never forget that.
My aim with this is to turn on light bulbs and inspire people to feel empowered and to ultimately take Massive Different ACTION Immediately. I’m hoping you’ve had enough validation by now that procrastination is the cornerstone of all poverty including your own poverty. Waiting to act til you have more money, more time, more this or that is the formula for a dead life til the day you join the physically dead. I hope you decide it’s easier to climb than it is to regret not climbing. I hope you make a decision in your own favor and then I hope you RESOLVE to commit to fail over and over again until you are successful.
Begin designing the life of your dreams and begin TODAY even if your starting point financially is $zero income like mine was. I promise you you’ll never take the second step closer toward your own dreams if you don’t take the first step.
What is the I COMMIT TO STAY FIT THROUGH THE HOLIDAYS CHALLENGE?
This challenge is designed to help us through that difficult time of year… the Holidays! This is a FREE Challenge I will never ask you for a fee in this Challenge. Email Me to enter Today to give yourself enough time to get all your ducks in a row by the October 3rd start date.
Many people complain of gaining weight during this time of year due to all of the yummy foods available in combination with the shortening of the days. I hope that, with the help of this challenge, we can help each other survive this “dreaded” time of year. I spent an enormous amount of time and energy designing this 90 day Challenge which will include education, workout opportunities, fitness tips, nutrition tips, recipes, expert trainer tips, accountability, prizes, and more!
When does it start? October3rd When does it end? December 31st
Email Me to enter with the subject line of, “I Commit to my Fitness Through the Holidays”.
The best most successful Home Fitness Program since the beginning of man, P90X, finally has a sequel! I just pre ordered my copy yesterday you can pre order yours as early as September 6th from My Website. If you’d like to secure your copy of P90X2 before September 6th REACH ME so I can help you make that happen.
If you’ve followed my story you know I did a round of the original P90X four years ago and went from scrawny to brawny with it in only 90 days. I completely changed my body, my physical and mental health, my self confidence, everything. That 90 days completely revolutionized the quality of my life through fitness. That’s why I recommend it to people because if you drastically improve your fitness you’re going to drastically improve all other areas of your life it’s like a domino affect over everything. Self confidence gos up, it emotes from you and resonates with everyone you come into contact with, and it actually begins to attract success to you that you couldn’t ever seem to get before no matter how hard you tried. Success is EASY now!
Opportunities come knocking! There is a saying, “Success is something you attract by the person you become”. When you’re in great physical and mental shape, when you have high self esteem and you have high self confidence you begin to attract opportunities that other less confident people just don’t get.
Michelle Metcalf says, “I am amazed, that after 3 days of Shakeology the amount of energy I have! I normally would have a pepsi as my pick me up in the am to make it through work, now I dont even need it! The shakeology does it for me!!!! Its so nice to not have the sluggishness and grogginess I — USED to have!!!!
Also, because this shake makes sooooooo much, I have been splitting it up into half scoop in the morning and half scoop at night. I have been splitting that with my mom because its almost toooo much for me to drink. She suffers from RA pretty bad, well since I have been sharing with her, she has been cleaning and rearranging things like a mad woman and is still going strong!! Normally after 2 days she would be in so much pan and wanting to sleep all the time. Its so nice to have my mom back!!! :)”
I used a very specific home fitness program to accomplish this in 90 days. I followed the program to a T with special emphasis on lifting heavy and rock solid Nutrition. Without the heavy lifting and superior nutrition I would not have gotten superior results in 90 days. Shakeology, natures available foods, portion controlling, and eating every 2 or 3 hours is key to my nutrition. Feel free to contact me on facebook about your personal health and fitness goals.
Not just for New Years but anytime of year, I’m providing a cocktail recipe on behalf of Chalene Johnson. Remember to drink responsibly (for both yourself and those around you… don’t be a victim of the unwanted Facebook photo tag!)
NEW YEAR’S MARGARITA
Cocktails can be diet-friendly too!!! This sugar-free margarita will save you 285 calories!!
INGREDIENTS
6 oz. Sprite Zero
1 1/2 oz. tequila
Crystal Light lemonade mix
splash of fresh lime juice
ice, crushed or cubes
Blend all ingredients together. Serve with a slice of lime and a touch of salt on the rim of the glass.
It tastes just like the real thing but has just 115 calories and 0 grams of sugar!!!!! YUMMY!!!
So, it’s that time of year… the time of year where temptation after temptation is placed in front of us and we have the choice as to whether or not to give in. Now, it IS the Holidays, so there are some temptations worth being given into (like those goodies that only come around once per year… you know what I’m talking about!? Maybe your Mom bakes a special pie, or there’s grandma’s cookies, etc.). I’m not saying you have to give up everything during the Holidays, but choose wisely… choose wisely.
The video of the week goes into choosing some healthy options when attending other people’s Holiday parties. Spend most of the evening filling your plate with those healthy options, and then take a reasonable portion size of any dessert (or higher calorie option) that you may want that evening.
Now, last night I threw my own holiday party, and my goal was to offer healthy foods for 95% of what was out there. I figured I’d go ahead and share my list of what I had at my holiday party and it may help you plan your own holiday party and/or choose wisely when attending someone else’s…
What did Melanie serve?
~Turkey & Cheese (1 serving = 1 slice of deli or fresh turkey + 1 slice of low fat cheese)
~Fresh fruit (a nice variety… give lots of color to make it more attractive to the eye and the taste buds)
~Veggie tray (again, go for a variety of color, the eye is attracted to color, so you will probably find more people will pick off of it when it looks more attractive)
~Dips (most people like dips w/their veggies, one of my FAVORITES is HUMMUS, Sabra roasted garlic is the best, in my opinion… but see the Pick of the Week for other great dip options…)
~Pickles (almost no calories but lots of flavor… get the cocktail size)
~Olives (these can add up in calories, but are loaded w/healthy stuff too! My favorite are pitted kalamata olives/Greek olives)
~Sweet Potato Chips (very holiday themed, and very tasty too… perfect for providing the crunch factor)
~Mixed Nuts (nuts are great for placing randomly around the house. You can get fancy and offer shelled nuts w/nut crackers OR have them un-shelled… I had mine unshelled and mixed in yogurt covered pomegranite seeds for a little salty/sweet factor)
~Shrimp cocktail (shrimp is an excellent lower calorie way to get yummy food AND your protein. Be sparing with the cocktail sauce, however, because those do have sugars and many calories in them).
~Organic bite-sized gingerbread men (I did want to offer something sweet… and these were perfect! I found them at Whole Foods).
~Candy (I DID have some candy… but it was just one display w/Hershey’s kisses and some candy canes… and, actually, that stuff was BARELY touched! Everyone went for the healthy options! Yay!).
~Beverages (all I served was water and I had red wine out… be careful with those holiday beverages, namely egg nog, because they are calorie city! Hot tea is another great option for some holiday spice without the calorie nightmare!).
So, that was MY holiday party. I find that presentation is a HUGE part of serving your food… so, if you opt to serve many healthy options, just be sure to make them pleasing to the eye (which is wear the mixing of many colors comes in) and then people won’t even miss the “bad” foods. The key to serving healthy foods is to think natural (i.e. fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean cuts of meats, low fat cheeses, relishes, etc.)… stay away from overly processed foods.
I know when you go to other people’s that there are usually WAY more unhealthy temptations. Based on experience, I know that a lot of people LOVE to get those oven baked finger foods (i.e. pigs in a blanket, mini quiches, etc.), but BEWARE of those, because they usually have a trans fat content, and that is something that you definitely do not want to overdue. Also look out for any processed meats (i.e. sausages, franks, etc.) as those are high in fat content and may also contain trans fat depending on how they are prepared.
When it comes to desserts, my personal rule of thumb is to stick with the home made. Why waste your calories on something that someone bought in a store that you could have any time of the year!? No no… use those calories wisely! Have that home baked item that only comes around once per year! Be weary of your portion sizes too. Remember, a single full-sized cookie can have anywhere from 200-500 calories, depending on the type… so, stick with that MUST HAVE item, and don’t waste time with those things that you just “kind of” want or feel obligated to try (because you aren’t obligated to try anything, so don’t be bullied! ).
All in all… HAVE FUN, and have HAPPY and HEALTHY holidays!!!!!!
Aaahhhh, the holidays…the scents of fresh pine and baked goods fill your home; everywhere are twinkling lights and culinary delights…but every to die for dessert and festive cocktail represents temptation, overindulgence, and missed workouts. The season can be downright frightening for those struggling to lose or maintain weight. While gathering with family and friends is one of the best gifts shared during the holidays, most American families, including my own, gather with a healthy dose of high fat, butter infused, sugar coated, carbo-loaded family favorites. It just wouldn’t be Christmas without Grandma’s homemade apple squares. The crust alone calls for 4 sticks of butter! (I am SO not kidding)
It’s hard to say how many pounds the average American gains between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some studies suggest the average weight gain to be as high as 10 pounds while others argue the statistic is closer to a pound. Regardless of the number, most of us would like to enjoy the traditions of the season without the traditional weight gain.
Here are 9 tips to help you enjoy the traditions and treats that make your holiday season special without blowing the progress you’ve made all year.
1. Start your day by pushing play: No matter how many guests you have coming for dinner or how much you have left to do, make time to start your day with exercise. By “pushing play” and doing an exercise video like(any of Beachbody’s programs)you’ll have more energy, decrease your appetite, reduce stress and boost your spirits.
2. Don’t deny yourself: Studies show that those who deny themselves their “favorites” often consume more calories in other food selections and are more likely to “binge” later. Decide in advance what you’ll have and how much you’ll put on your plate, and then stop. Make your calories count. Avoid mindless munching and take time to truly enjoy a small dose of any decadent treat your heart desires.
3. Keep a running total: Estimate your calories as you consume them. Research shows that those who are aware of their calorie consumption eat less and fill up faster. Don’t forget to include those “sneaky” calories consumed when testing and tasting recipes or the handful of nuts you ate while catching up with cousins.
4. Drink water before and after your meal: This rule applies regardless of the day of the year. Water consumption decreases cravings and helps to regulate hunger. Be sure to consume water after your workouts as well.
5. Use a smaller plate: If salad plates are available, use one for your main entree. A smaller surface area will help you become aware of moderate portions of all your favorites.
6. Plan a physical family activity. Start a family tradition of splitting into teams for a “friendly” game of flag football or doing a 5k together. Meet for a morning walk on the beach or take a post-feast stroll through the neighborhood to enjoy the Christmas lights. (Although in my neighborhood, there’s no sense in walking far because ours will be the best for miles! Honestly, I’m not a competitive person…except when it comes to my Christmas lights. Those Griswold’s ain’t got nuthin’ on the Johnson’s!) Anyway, even if it’s 20 below, you can have a dance party inside with the kids. Be silly, play and laugh with your family. Doing physical activity together strengthens family bonds and builds traditions that can last generations.
7. Give it away: If you’re hosting the festivities, add disposable containers to your shopping list so you can send guests home with ALL of your leftovers. Eliminate a week filled with left over pie, stuffing, gravy and goodies by sending family members home with special care packages. Ok, if you must, save yourself that one piece of cold pumpkin pie for breakfast or fixins for ONE of dad’s traditional turkey, mashed potato, and cranberry sauce sandwiches and send the rest packin’.
8. Throw it away: If you find yourself on the receiving end of a half eaten pecan pie, or a neighborly plate of cookies, graciously accept but once home…toss it! Yes, I said, “TOSS IT!” Which would give you greater long-term happiness, more pie or to fit into your skinny jeans?
9. Get back on track: Remember that the occasional splurge is what diet experts call “moderation”. Go ahead…treat yourself! You deserve it! Remember, a splurge should last a meal or a day at the most. By eating poorly for several days, you set yourself up for a season of weight gain. Plan for and enjoy your favorites then get back on track to your journey of healthy living.
Happy holidays! Enjoy the season and all of the goodness it brings
3 cups yams, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. Italian parsley, freshly chopped
Salt
Black pepper, freshly ground
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place yams in a covered baking dish with just enough water to coat the bottom of the pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes (until tender), and then add the lemon juice and parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve. Makes 4 servings.
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 to 50 minutes
Nutritional Information: (per serving)
Calories: 134
Protein: 2 g
Fiber: 5 g
Carbs: 32 g
Fat Total: 0 g
Saturated Fat: 0 g
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I am so flippin’ excited, I have to share. When I started on this Beachbody journey, it was for personal weight loss. Tom Birkenmeyer, do you remember me calling you from a store parking lot IN TEARS, because I had to lose weight NOW!!!??? I saw an outfit that was clearanced from $250.00 down to $32.00 and I couldn’t fit into it. I was devastated! Fast forward to this morning (11 months into my journey)….I just picked up 2 brand new pairs of jeans and a skirt (all on clearance 🙂 ) in a size that I haven’t worn since 1982!!!!!! That business suit that I wanted that day….WOULD BE TOO FLIPPIN’ BIG ON ME NOW!!!! I am beyond STOKED right now and practically in tears as I type this. Tom, thank you so much for sticking with me. I am so thankful for you and Beachbody!
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