I Like How It Feels

Wow! If you have not heard the Enrique Iglesias song  "I Like How It Feels" , you have got to listen to it. I think if ever there was a song that hit home with me, this would have to be it. I have to sit and think about my life and how I have always been just one step behind everyone else...their dreams, their plans, their life. Have you ever just sat there and wondered "what is my purpose?" 

I think that I've searched for that my entire life...just where do I belong? What is it that I can do to make a difference? You know I don't believe there are any random acts in our universe. Everything that happens to you is part of the person you are and the person you are meant to be. Every experience from the exhiliarating highs to the crashing lows. It is what makes you so unique. Every person is a story just waiting to be told. Some of you will journey on your own and others will reach out across cyberspace and meet people sharing the same experiences.

For those of you struggling with self-esteem issues because of where you are right now, I want to say YOU CAN CHANGE IT! I don't care if you have 300 lbs to lose or if you are so skinny the wind could blow you into next week...YOU CAN CHANGE IT! The only thing in life with an ironclad guarantee is death. Other than that, everything is possible. But the only person that is going to get you there is YOU!

Now I can come in here and tell you night after night exactly what I am doing to change my life. I can stand behind you and encourage you. I can support you and guide you. I can even inspire you. But when it comes to making it happen...IT'S ALL YOU! You have to reach down inside yourself and want it so bad that you will be willing to do whatever it takes to get there.That means when you have a setback, and you will, you have to have the courage to keep getting back up and pushing forward. For every person that says "you can't" you have to say "you can!"

I'm just very happy to have finally reached my goal weight and now changing my goal to "toning" instead of "weight loss." I can't even begin to tell you how much "I LIKE HOW IT FEELS!" It was a lot of stumbles to get here, but I was determined someday I would be here. And now, me the girl that was afraid of P90X ® is fighting like heck to do Asylum ® and LOVING IT! Am I perfect? Heck NO! But it doesn't matter...what matters is I keep raising the bar. I keep telling myself I can do better and I know I will.

I became a coach because I love it! I love how exciting it is to see people transform themselves. I love being there when they tell their story and then watching them come alive with their success. I'm a coach because "I LIKE HOW IT FEELS!" If you watch the video below, you will see ME! I have my five seconds of fame, but the real fame comes in "doing what I love and loving what I do!" You can be a part, too! Let's talk about YOU joining my TEAM!

But there are other ways to take part if you're not ready to coach. We are all doing a "Holiday Fat Blaster" on the Cinderella Pact thread over on the P90X ® Programs Message boards. We would love to have anyone that wants to join us, jump over and just get busy with us. I don't care what program you are doing, the girls in there have tons of experience and great information to share. So if you are looking for a group of really motivated people...we are definitely where you want to go!

Don't have an account? What is stopping you? Let's DO THIS!!! SIGN UP FOR FREE!

You know you want to "LIKE HOW IT FEELS!"

SIZE 18 to SIZE 7 "I LIKE HOW IT FEELS!"

I've checked into the Asylum

I just finished an Insanity ® / P90X ® Hybrid and absolutely LOVED it! Insanity ® has definitely raised the bar on my fitness level. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE what Shaun T has done for me and so now I'm going to be paying it forward. I'm within 11 lbs of my goal weight and hoping the Asylum ® is my ticket to ride.

This was my end results with my hybrid. Not too bad for a girl! LOL ... a 47-year old girl!

There were people in there ranging from all levels of fitness. I'm 47 and a knee surgery survivor...but I've learned to modify where I need to and listen to my body to push when I can and back off where it needs be. First and most important thing you will learn when doing ANY extreme fitness program..."no pain, no gain" is the recipe for INJURY. You should push your muscles enough to feel the resistance and bring them to failure. But going to the point that you hurt yourself is NUTS, not Insanity ® . So if I begin to feel my form go or I feel like something is starting to bind...I don't PUSH. I stop, refocus and do it right. I listen because I want to be successful with the program. It's not about being a super hero, it's about doing my best to make my body the best it can be!

Anyway...that workout with Shaun definitely made it a no-brainer...I was coming home to the Asylum ® . I'd been to the water and I drank the koolaid! Yeah, I'm just like any other Team Beachbody Junkie - once you get started you can't help be become addicted to getting fit and pushing yourself to even higher levels. It's the challenge that hooks you and the results that keep you.

So my next journey has begun. Yesterday was Day 1. Speed & Agility. Definitely let me know "I am raising the bar." I thought I could bring the sweat with Insanity. OMG! I was in learning mode yesterday and soaked through and through! I LOVED IT!!!

And when it was over...I was like "HOOYEAH the next 30-days are going to be sweet!" I've got my day 1 photos. But think I will wait until next Monday to post so I can do weekly comparisons. A total way to keep myself accountable since it is afterall a 30-Day program..let's see what happens. "Momma needs her some abs!" I want a Shaun T belly!!!

This is one program I just know is going to bring my fitness exactly where I want it to be. This morning I had Day 2: Strength. This is a weight/resistance workout that literally had my body screaming. All I can say is WOW! You totally will not be disappointed. This is definitely the kind of strength training one would expect Shaun T Style. You go so fast you don't have time to think about your muscles getting tired...it's just boom, boom, boom. One move after another. And I could feel it.

I did the back flys with weights instead of the pullup bar. Not that I didn't want to do the pullup bar...just that meant hitting pause button to go to my bedroom (bar is in my closet opening) and since I had the option of the weights, I figured why not? Let me tell you, about an hour after the workout I had a major burn setting in between my shoulder blades. Yeah, this baby is going to work.

Now for all you ladies out there, I was using 10 and 15 pound weights throughout the workout. Seemed to work perfectly for me. I think the speed of the reps made that a good starting point for me, anyhow. The combination moves that lead into the pushups and the spiders were my favorite. Yeah, I'm thinking this is really going to get that fat to finally go "buh-bye". And absolutely love the weighted core work at the end. You can feel it target both your upper and lower abs...us girls all know THAT'S A GOOD thing.

So all I have to say is "I'M IN IT!" This is one time I really want to let them see me sweat!

Day 1 - Welcome to the Asylum!!!

Team Beachbody Summit 2011 - AMAZING!

All I can say is "WOW"! Team Beachbody Summit was everything I had hoped it would be and more. I absolutely had the time of my life. From getting onto an airplane for the very first time to attending the Super Workout with over 2,000 coaches. It was amazing.

If I had to use one word to describe the summit, it would be "ENERGY". Absolute unequivocal pure ENERGY! Never have I seen so many people united for one purpose and so passionate about what they are doing to "End the Trend of Obesity!" I could not help but be inspired by the stories of real people overcoming impossible odds to come out victorious in their own battles of the bulge. I'm not talking about dropping 5 or 10 pounds here, but actually losing a whole person in body weight. People that have literally stepped away from years of living unfulfilling lives to enjoying every single moment of every single day. People that are leading the way and paying it forward, because they have a message to share - that you are worth the effort! Definitely made me come away feeling proud to be a Team Beachbody Coach.

The truth is many of us have a story to share. Some of us are living those stories today. That's the real beauty of being a Team Beachbody Coach. We are real people with a real desire to get fit, stay fit and help others reach their fitness goals. Chances are we have been down many of the same detours and met the same road blocks many of you are struggling with today. We also know how critical it is to have a support system you can depend on, like our "Cinderella Pact." Unless you've been there - it's hard to even imagine what it is like. Some of us have struggled our whole lives and then some of us just woke up one morning and didn't even recognize the person starring back at us in the mirror. It's funny how we go along not realizing the extra weight we are carrying is actually threatening and depriving us of our very existence.

January 2005

I've been an active member of Team Beachbody since November 2007. I have struggled with the yo-yo weight loss game most of my adult life. However, it never really reached a critical point until after the birth of my last child. I will never forget actually leaving the hospital 6 pounds heavier than when I had been admitted - and that was after giving birth to a 7 pound healthy bouncing baby boy. How is that even possible? From that point on my roller coaster ride began. I sought professional help from a nutritionist, that pretty much handed me several pieces of plastic to demonstrate "portion" size and a carbon copied diet plan. That was it...and it cost me $40 for the 15 minutes of her time I was given, with no outlet for support. In other words I was basically given what a couple of seconds on Google would have found me. So my weight continued to climb and my self-esteem hit an all-time low. There is a period of my life you will find very few photos of me...those were my "hide and seek" years - "hide" from the camera or "seek" something or someone to position in front of me.

October 2005
No Carbs! Size 6

After about four years of convincing myself it was "ok" to be overweight a new reality hit me. I went in for my annual checkup and was put on high blood pressure medication and told I was "morbidly" obese and unless I did something fast, heading down a path to major health complications. Desperate for answers and the "quick-fix" solution I did the all popular "no carbs" diet. It was great - I lost 45 pounds in less than 3 months. WOW! Did that feel good. I went out, bought a whole new wardrobe, celebrated my success and then introduced carbs back into my diet. BAM! I don't even have to tell you what happened next. I blew up!!! I hit my all-time heaviest of 188 pounds. For a person that is 5'4" tall, it definitely wasn't pretty. And let me tell you, the weight that came back wasn't part of the muscle that I had lost - oh no - it was ALL fat! I was actually much worse off than I had been before.

January 2008
188 lbs

Sometimes I am really thankful for what happened next. It was right before Thanksgiving 2007. I saw an informercial for "Turbo Jam ® ". There was this cute blond dancing on my television telling me "I could do that." And the before and afters...WOW could that really be for real? So I bought it and made a promise to myself I was going to get healthy. Chalene Johnson is one of the most motivating trainers I've ever known and that was my introduction into the world of Team Beachbody. On the DVD it talked about WOWY and the community of people that were there for you. So I logged on and the message boards have been my support system ever since. And I am still going strong with those first encounters - they are no longer just my support system - they are my friends.

Summit 2011
Size 8

My journey has been a "slow and steady race," I'm not the 90-Day Success Story. But I am still nonetheless a success story. I've managed to average a weight loss of about 18 lbs a year. It's been a journey of stumbles here and there, but all the while a learning experience, which has taken me off of high blood pressure medication and back into a world worth living for. In February of 2010, I became a Team Beachbody Coach. My heart is in "paying it forward." I am giving back to a community that has literally given me back my life. I am doing something that has a real purpose and meaning that is close to my heart - I'm in the position now to "be there" for someone else just like me. That is something I am most proud of and being at summit this year was truly telling myself "I DID IT!"

Next year's summit will even be more spectacular than this year! We are going to Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Hotel. You better believe I am registered and will be there!!! So if you are ready to take that step to getting healthier and enjoying your life, I would love to hear from you! Let's get you heading down the path of a happier more fulfilling life! Just remember: DECIDE * COMMIT * SUCCEED! It can happen!

P90X / Insanity Hybrid - IN IT to WIN IT!

WOW! I can't believe we are literally one week away from the event of the year! I'm so excited that this will be my very first Team Beachbody Summit. I've been waiting for this for since first becoming a member in 2007. My life has come completely full circle since that day. In November of 2007, I was majorly overweight and just desperate to get off the diet roller coaster. Now here I am 3 1/2 years later about to have the time of my life.



For some of you, 3 1/2 years probably sounds like an eternity. But for me...it is a success! I've averaged a weight loss of about 18 pounds per year. From one program to the next, round after round, the results have been slow in comparison. But here is the deal...I've managed to continually lose weight and KEEP IT OFF! I've went from someone that was morbidly obese, to getting within a healthy weight range. I'm only 15 pounds from reaching my goal weight...and if history speaks for itself, I will definitely be there by next year's Team Beachbody Summit!

I've gotten rave reviews from both of my doctors this year! Not only do they approve my diet and exercise regiment - they totally support my continued success! The best part about what I am doing is ANYONE can do this. It is just a matter of chosing to "DECIDE - COMMIT - SUCCEED." Whether you are looking to lose weight or just eat healthier, Team Beachbody is definitely one of the best avenues to get you there. I so amazed at the HUGE SUPPORT I've gotten from all the people there...all the way from the corporate offices right down to fellow WOWY buddies. This has truly been a great experience and one I will continue to follow. For me, it is a lifelong journey. That's why I became a coach...I wanted to not only share with others how much this has changed my life, but to continue to be accountable. I want to make certain I stay on the path to "a healthier more fulfilling life."

I am now in my 11th week of the P90X ® / Insanity ® hybrid. I'm pleased with my progress. I've watched my clothing begin to fit better and actually seen "muscles" starting to emerge. That is a GREAT feeling...just knowing what I am doing is making a difference in helping me reach my goal and stay there.

I'm doing things now that I never imagined I would be able to do 3 1/2 years ago. And the real proof is in the photos...they may have been gradually changes as I was going along, but I never lost sight of the big picture. My small successes have led me to where I am today. So no doubt in my mind, I'm on the right path and LIFE is definitely GOOD.

Team Beachbody is continually looking for ordinary people just like you and me to be the frontline advocates for a healthier lifestyle. If you have ever considered the possibility of changing your life and have a real desire to help others along the way...this quite possibly could be the career path for you, too. I would love the opportunity to talk with you and would be happy to share how I be your Team Beachbody Coach or even add you to my line of Team Beachbody Coaches. Please feel free to email me with any questions you might have. You can also check out my Team Beachbody Coaching site at http://www.fitmeXcellence.com .

Digging Deeper and Pushing Play because I know I'm worth it! Keep Bringing It!