Commit to Being Fit

In case you are new to my blog or maybe simply forgot or chose to ignore, Dave and I are committed to living a fit life. What does that mean? It means we are choosing to exercise and instill good behaviors to our two daughters. We are attempting to eat well as much as we can along with following our current exercise program, Insanity by Beachbody.

Because Dave and I love Insanity and the other Beachbody workout programs, Dave and I decided to sign up to become a Beachbody coach. We realize being a Beachbody coach is not for everyone but let me tell you why we decided to do it and the benefits we receive from it.

• We receive product discounts – 25% off!
• We get to meet and get to know other Beachbody coaches as well as other individuals who are also committed to being fit.
• We get to help others achieve their fitness goals.
• We get to participate in Beachbody conference calls and get access to a lot of cool information to help us succeed in our fitness journey.

Right now Beachbody is allowing you to sign up as a coach for free through the end of 2010. Starting in January, it is a $40 sign up fee. In addition to the sign-up fee, there is a $15 monthly charge to maintain your website. Small change if you are taking advantage of the 25% off on all the products (especially Shakeology which is a meal replacement shake – yummy!).

If you are only interested in the exercise programs or Shakeology, we are here for you! We have tried many of them and have written several reviews under our fitness tab along the navigation bar so please check it out.

I have learned many people have P90X at home. If you have ordered something through Beachbody then you have been automatically assigned a Beachbody coach. Did you know that? Whenever someone buys something for the first time, the Beachbody site automatically assigns a coach to you for free. You see, you pay nothing for having a Beachbody coach (which is very cool). Regardless if you have a coach or want to sign up for the first time, we’d love to be your coach. If you are interested is changing your coach, please follow the simple steps below. If you have not signed up or have not purchased anything yet, please go to the site at beachbodycoach.com/DHELD to sign up and to purchase.

To change your assigned Beachbody Coach, send an email to Coachrelations@teambeachbody.com. Include the following:

• Your name
• Send the email from the email address you use to log into TeamBeachbody.com
• The name or the Coach ID of the Coach to whom you want to switch (our Coach ID is 57999)
• You can also call: 1-800-240-0913 and make the coach change over the phone.

If you are interested in learning more about how to become a Beachbody coach or any of the products, please contact us! We would love for you to become a part of our fitness family and we would love to help answer any questions you may have.

You can contact us via our blog by using our contact form, or visit our Beachbody site at beachbodycoach.com/DHELD.

Exercising on the Road

The last few days I have spent out of town on a work trip and a day trip to my brother's for my niece's 1 year birthday.  It has been a busy 3 days.  As I have said in a previously blog, Dave and I are trying to live a fit life.  Therefore while packing for my work trip, I packed my gym clothes, sneakers, and reading material as I had great intentions of hitting the hotel exercise room.  Unfortunately my expectations and hopes were too high. 

Why is it when you are out of town it is almost impossible to get a workout in?  Is it because you are asked to be at your work place at 5 am, travel 3+ hours, work all day, go out for dinner, and arrive back at the hotel at 9:30 pm?  Is it because you are expected to meet your party in the hotel lobby by 7 am for breakfast so you can be at your next destination by 8:00 am? 

I had great intentions of getting one workout in but the only time my sneakers made it out of the suitcase is when I need to get to what was underneath them.  Sad but the reality.  I do wonder how other's manage to exercise on the road.  At least I tried.

Thankfully I am home now and can get back into my workout routine.  It is amazing how icky you can feel when you haven't worked for a few days.  Exercising is truly a high (at least for me) and I am ready to kick some Shaun T butt in Insanity!

Me + Snacks = Weakness

As Dave and I continue to strive for a fit life by completing Beachbody workouts, I have to acknowledge my good and bad eating habits. I am addicted to late evening snacking.

There I said it. My big time eating weakness is the snacking after the kids are tucked in bed which is around 8:30pm. At that point my mind and my body relax and I find myself in a quiet home with a grumbling tummy. All I want to do is jump onto the coach, find a show on my DVR to watch, and kick back with a snack in my hand. Please don't think it is my TV addiction that is causing this as I am content to hang in the kitchen on my laptop checking blogs, facebook, etc. with the same old snack in front of me. Even when I try not to snack, I can't stop thinking about food!

During the day, I do snack but it is much more controlled and planned out. I do have my occasional piece of candy (grr to Halloween candy!) or my small cup of really yummy but way too unhealthy popcorn. For the most part I eat fairly well during the day.  During the workday I try to drink a Shakeology for breakfast, a piece of fruit for my late morning snack, sandwich on a whole wheat wrap and a yogurt for lunch, and a proten bar or piece of fruit for my afternoon snack with 1 or 2 pieces of candy thoughout the day.  However some days I can't resist a few more piece of candy or another snack.  I do have room to improve if I really am serious about trimming my tummy area but it is my night time snacking that is troubling me.

I have read and heard numerous times to stop eating 3 hours before going to bed. I just like to know how this is possible? Honestly, how is this possible? I try to resist the urge but then the urge gets stronger and stronger until I cave. I've tried not to have my favorite snacks in the house but then I'll turn to other items that are equally as bad especially in large quantities.

My favorite snack of all time pita chips from Sam's.  They are delicious and incredibly addicting.  I love them by themselves or with a bowl of salsa.  YUM! 

So I ask all of you reading this post, how does one resist the late evening snacking?

Fitness Is A Priority In Our Family

Fitness is a huge part of our daily lives.  It is something we do together as a team days each week.  We love it and we love being fit together.

Dave and I both have very unique fitness stories on how we reached the point of being fitness enthusiasts.  We both agree it is extremely important to be a positive role model for our children and to make our personal health a priority.  We have fallen head over heals for Beachbody workouts specifically ChaLean Extreme and Insanity.  It has taken us years to reach this point where we agree on workouts and where we exercise together.

How did fitness become apart of me? Looking back I have always lived a fairly active lifestyle. Growing up I was involved in a few sports, rode bike with my friends, and had an amazing metabolism. When I left home to attend college, I quickly gained the freshmen 15+ and no longer could fit into my clothes. At that point I knew I had to do something as I was no longer playing any sports so I joined a gym.

Throughout my adult life, I have continued to exercise to a point. There were a few years which I had a gym membership but never found my way there to utilize it. Thankfully I had a job in retail at the time which kept me moving despite the lack of exercise and good eating habits. Once we moved to our current town, I made the decision to get fit so I joined an all women's gym. This gym really changed my view of exercise and I found myself consistently craving more.

As a member of the gym, I met my good friend Kimberly who is a personal trainer. I had the privilege of training with her and learning new exercises while trimming my body. I loved the results.

As our trainer/client relationship turned into a friendship, Kimberly talked to me about the Beachbody workouts and about working out at home. She spoke very highly of it and thought I would enjoy it. Honestly I never thought I would ever be motivated enough to exercise in my own home so I always dismissed it until Dave decided to incorporate fitness into his life.  (For the rest of my story click here).

Dave's story differs than mine as Dave had been overweight for most of his adult life and regrettably the two most photographed moments of his life, our wedding and the experience of bringing home our first daughter, he was at his heaviest.

Here is Dave's story:

I have been able to lose weight in the past, including 20 pounds by following the Atkins diet back in 2002 as well as when training to run a 1/2 marathon in 2006. The weight came back.

I have never been a fan of the gym, joining one in every city we have every lived in, and usually paying for a membership that I never used. I found it monotonous and had no vision on what I should be doing.

The change in my life came in late 2008 when I saw that my employer had a program at an area hospital to create a custom diet and fitness plan for those considered obese. I inquired into the program and was told that my BMI (body mass index) of 29 was not considered obese (the cut-off was 30) and to call back if I gained some more weight. Seriously, an employee of a health organization recommended that I gain some additional weight to join their fat club.

I decided to do something about it on my own. The following January I hired a personal trainer and for the next 6 months I learned the basics of fitness and gained the confidence I needed to believe in myself by seeing the results. (For the rest of Dave's story click here).

If you are like us and want to incorporate fitness into your life or maybe you already have, we would love for you to become a follower of our fitness blog found under the fitness tab.  Our goal is to blog about the ups and downs of fitness, talk in depth about our Beachbody workouts, and blog about other fitness stories or tips we have learned along the way.  If you find you have questions, please contact us and we will do our best to answer them.  We love Beachbody so much that Dave recently became a coach!  You can view Dave's personal coaching website here.  The site will allow you to ask questions, learn more about the products, and even order the products! 

Please follow our journey and share your story with us.  We would love to hear from you and see how fitness is changing your life.