Daily Success 4/30/2013 – beer-drinking, overweight Minnesota couch potato

Know what it feels like to be a 51-year-old binge-eating, beer-drinking, overweight Minnesota couch potato who hides under layers of clothes (even in the summer) and fears spending the rest of his short life on multiple prescriptions for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and whatever other ailments plague the obese?

ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!
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So on January 18, 2013, I started Beachbody’s Ultimate Reset—and all I can say is WOW! In 21 days I lost 26.6 lbs., 7 inches off my waist, 2 inches off my chest and arms, and my body fat dropped from 33% down to 25%. And the best news is, my LDL dropped 72 points and my total cholesterol went from 240, down to 165. WOW!

Before The Reset, I was about 100 pounds overweight. And while I’ve still got a ways to go, doing The Reset and incorporating Shakeologyinto my diet was key to kicking off my weight loss journey. The best thing about The Reset is that it taught me how to eat. The menu was packed with tons of delicious recipes and I was never hungry, even with the smaller portions. They say it takes 21 days to develop a habit. Well, those 21 days have come and gone, and all I can say is that I’m hooked on living healthy.

I joined a Facebook Group for each phase during the 21 days , which helped keep me committed. Being able to talk with others made me realize that if they could pull through and keep resetting their bodies, then I could do it too. And not once did I ever feel like I was going at this alone.

Now I have so much more energy and my sleep is ten times more restful. But sometimes I don’t want to sleep I just lay awake, proudly thinking about all I’ve achieved. It’s such an incredible feeling knowing that you took control of your life and finally did something that would add years to it, versus cutting it short. Besides, I got a lot to live for. I’ve been married for 25 years and have 3 wonderful kids who need a dad.

Maintaining this new lifestyle won’t always be easy because life is full of temptations. But I’m moving in the right direction and it makes me so happy that I won’t need drugs to battle health issues and the probability of other illness related to being overweight have diminished. I have so much more self-confidence than ever, and my wife and family are a million times happier now that I am happier with myself. Thanks Beachbody, you saved me.

Daily Success 4/29/2013 – I was far from home, stressed, depressed, totally alone—and massively overweight.

Growing up, I was always super skinny. But after having my second child, I was left weighing 190 lbs. —and I hated it. After running 4-6 miles a day, I lost 10 lbs. but that was it—I hit a plateau I just couldn’t break. I mean, all that running in the hot sun…and nothing. So I gave up.
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I felt totally defeated. But when my Army husband got orders to move to Germany, that’s when my life totally fell apart. Our first three months were in a hotel, so I was far from home, stressed, depressed, totally alone—and massively overweight.

But when I saw an INSANITY infomercial, it suddenly clicked. I love fast-paced exercise. INSANITY sure didn’t look boring. And all that sweat dripping off… My husband ordered, and that became my hotel room workout. At first it was hard—so hard I could barely keep up and barely finish half a workout. But I kept pushing play and doing what I could and found myself getting stronger. The weight was coming off.

So I started my second round, but this time, I fueled up with Shakeology, and my results started coming faster and faster until I was down to 141 lbs.! Now I’m back. I’m happier and more energized than ever. My kids have an active mommy and they know that’s better than having a sluggish one. The best part is that I can actually keep up with my Army husband!!!

Click here to find out more about the Beachbody Challenge and Challenge Groups

After having 2 kids and a C-section, I was scared to try INSANITY because I didn’t think I could keep up. Truth is, I couldn’t at first, but week by week I got stronger and pushed harder. I think every mommy who struggles with weight loss should push themselves hard because losing weight after having kids is a whole new ballgame. But a person will never know what they are capable of until they overcome their fear of failure.

And that’s exactly what doing INSANITY did for me.

Daily Success 4/25/2013 – I started to think I was going to be chubby for the rest of my life

I’ve never been able to maintain a healthy weight. I could lose 10 lbs., but I would gain it all right back. I was still bubbly, optimistic, funny Jennifer—but I was hauling around a major amount of excess weight. I started to think I was going to be chubby for the rest of my life. I wanted to fit into a sexy dress or suit for work, but I never shopped for those things because I didn’t want to be that fat person squeezing their butt into something “too small” or that I “shouldn’t be wearing.” I was restricted… ugh!
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Last year I said, this is it. I’m going to be 30! If I don’t get in shape now, I NEVER WILL. I ordered Slim in 6® and started doing the program on my own schedule. Then I joined my Team Beachbody® Coach’s Fit Team and completed Slim in 6, with amazing results. That program took off just enough weight and gave me enough lean muscle to push on to a higher tier of fitness. I really wanted to zap the rest of the fat on my body, so in early October I ordered TurboFire®.

My biggest challenge was motivation. There were days I felt I might not get my workout in because I was tired, or because I hadn’t seen a change in a week and a half. But my Coach and the Facebook group helped me succeed, as did the people I coach who are counting on me. I made time for my routine, stuck with it, and got amazing results. The rest is history!

Click here to find out more about the Beachbody Challenge and Challenge Groups

TurboFire and Shakeology® changed my life. Shakeology is delicious, and gets me super charged to take on my day. Plus, it makes calorie calculations easy. I am happy I used it in conjunction with TurboFire, since nutrition was a huge part of my success. I loved everything about TurboFire! The music is freakin’ amazing, and the kickboxing makes you feel like such a bad…(you know what)! My knees used to hurt, and my shoulders would get really sore, because my muscles were so weak. Now, lifting things is effortless. My leg muscles are strong enough that my knees aren’t strained. Being 40 lbs. lighter helps, too!

My whole body is a rockin’ machine now. I can do 3 sets of full body push-ups. When I take a jog, I feel like I’m running on air, like I’m a feather—well, a feather with a ton of strength and lean muscle! I have NEVER before been a size 6, and my face has slimmed so much, I can see my dimples. Getting physically fit has given me confidence to try new things and achieve new goals. In August 2013, I will graduate with my Master’s degree in Social Work, and I recently got a new job. I even told my husband, “I’m feeling so good, like I can conquer the world, like anything is possible!” I’m living my dream and the sky is the limit. I’m stronger, leaner, longer, sexier, healthier, bouncier, more confident, and have SO MUCH ENERGY! I’m a Beachbody Customer, for life!

Daily Success 4/24/2013 – I started to gain weight due to lack of exercise and eating fast food all the time.

I was always the skinny kid growing up, and spent lots of time playing sports. For the 7 years I was in the US Army, I was also generally fit. But upon leaving the Army in 2003, I started to gain weight due to lack of exercise and eating fast food all the time. Every morning I would grab a chicken biscuit (hey, I was eating chicken, that’s healthy, right?) a soda, and hash browns or fries for breakfast. Then I’d go out for lunch, get the biggest burger on the menu, and eat the entire thing. On the way home, I’d stop at a fast food place or order pizza for dinner. Before I knew it, I had ballooned to 240 lbs. and was always tired.
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One day I woke up completely out of breath, like I had been underwater for hours. I knew I had sleep apnea, and at some point I had probably stopped breathing. Luckily, that time I woke up. I will never forget that turning point, when I knew something was wrong and decided to change my life.

I chose P90X® because I’d seen the infomercials multiple times and figured, “If these guys can do it, so can I.” I liked the fact that P90X is a total-body program, and I didn’t have to buy a bunch of weights or equipment. The greatest challenge I faced was finding the motivation to change my exercise and eating habits. I would start P90X and quit a couple of weeks later, start back up, and then quit again. I did this about 3 times. I finally committed fully when I was invited to Jon Congdon’s “Comeback Kids” P90X Challenge Group by my Beachbody Coach. That time, I completed the entire program.

Click here to find out more about the Beachbody Challenge and Challenge Groups

The motivation and support from Challenge Groups is phenomenal! Posting motivational pictures and quotes on social media sites, as well as seeing others’ results, kept me accountable and helped me reach every goal I set. I drink Shakeology® every morning after I workout, and it’s also played a key role in my transformation. It leaves me feeling full, and gives me tons of energy throughout the day so that I can accomplish all my tasks. I definitely sleep better, and my mood is better than it has been in years.


To date, I have lost 62 lbs. and 22 inches off my body, and am in the best shape of my life. Even when I was in the US Army, running and exercising every day, I never had the definition in my abs, arms, shoulders, and legs that I have now. I’m more active, have more energy, and can accomplish things I only dreamed of when I was overweight. I’ve completed an 11-mile mud run (with more to come!), and am a better employee, husband, and father.

Daily Success 4/23/2013 – I would sit on the couch, eat junk food, watch television, and barely move.

Negativity surrounded my life, and I was depressed. After a long day at work, I would sit on the couch, eat junk food, watch television, and barely move. I was sad, unconfident, had no energy, and was always asking myself, “Why am I alive?” One day eating bad fast food landed me in the hospital, on the verge of kidney failure, with the worst infection they’d ever seen. I was scared out of my mind. Fortunately my boyfriend took care of me, but when I got out of the hospital on his birthday, we couldn’t celebrate the way we’d planned because I was hooked up to an IV.
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That changed my life forever. My boyfriend had already lost his mother, and I realized it scared him to see how sick I was. I decided that was the last day he would ever see me like that. I chose P90X because so many people were doing it and getting in the best shape of their lives.

The greatest challenge I faced was Pushing Play and sticking to the 90-day program. Being in a Challenge Group taught me what healthy eating was, and motivated me to work out. I felt if I didn’t work out or eat healthy meals, then I would get kicked out of the group—even though that wasn’t really the case. Logging in my workouts in the SuperGym made it easier to coordinate my daily plans, because then I knew which workout was next and how long it was. I liked that P90X switched the workouts constantly, using Muscle Confusion to get me the best results possible.

Click here to find out more about the Beachbody Challenge and Challenge Groups

P90X took me from size 8 and 143 pounds to size 2 and 118 pounds, and completely changed my life. Now I’m proud to go shopping and wear my clothes with confidence—and without my belly showing! I am so positive and try to inspire others to live a healthier life in all aspects, including fitness, nutrition, goal setting, financial freedom, and motivation to attain their dreams. That’s why I became Beachbody Coach and created my team, Nutritious Fitness. I now have positive and supportive friends all over the country! This Beachbody program saved my life, and now I am sharing my story so I can help save others.

Daily Success 4/22/2013 – I was stuck in a rut, worrying about how life was passing me by

All my adult life, I’ve been consumed by my work. I neglected my family. Put my family on the back burner. I neglected my health. I didn’t sleep. Didn’t really eat much—although I managed to keep putting on weight. But when my father died on his 80th birthday, it made me realize that we can’t control the way we die.

But we can definitely control the way we live.
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So one day, while I was stuck in a rut, worrying about how life was passing me by, I heard about the Ultimate Reset™ and made a promise right then that I’d change. After all, the Ultimate Reset seemed perfect. I knew I had to start eating better. And the Reset was something I could do with my wife. Plus it was only 21 days. Anybody can do 21 days.

When I started, I was hoping to lose 8 to 10 pounds. I ended up losing 14 and took 30 points off my total cholesterol. My wife lost 24 pounds and we gained something even more important cooking together. Doing the Reset really brought us closer together—shopping, talking in the kitchen with our aprons on while we prepared the fresh fruits and vegetables. Preparing the fresh fruits and vegetables, talking in the kitchen with our aprons. It was an eye-opener.

The Reset didn’t just help my marriage. I feel so much more alive now that I’ve learned how to eat healthy. I no longer let my business consume me. I have enough energy to accomplish in 8 hours what used to take 12. And now I realize that I lost my Dad because poor health choices took him too soon. I’ve committed to live the most healthy life possible so I can be around my family for as long as possible.

I’ve been given the most ultimate gift—the chance to reset my life before it’s too late. Thanks Beachbody.

Click here to find out more about the Beachbody Challenge and Challenge Groups

Daily Success 4/23/2013 – I hated my body—especially my belly fat.

Like most people who are overweight, I hated my body—especially my belly fat. I had horrible eating habits. I had clinical depression, excruciating pains in my feet, which made it impossible (I thought) to exercise. And my job didn’t help, either. As the manager of the dining room at a local country club, I was able to pick at food all day long.
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Luckily, I had one thing going for me—my daughter became a Beachbody Coach. So being the nice mom that I am, I decided to sign up. She talked to me about Beachbody workouts and I chose Body Gospel® to help me lose weight, get in shape, and refocus on what’s important in my life—a deep faith and being healthy.

Body Gospel seemed like a perfect fit for me at my age. I loved the music and I started out slow because I hadn’t worked out for 30 years (although in my mid-twenties, I trained for the Miss Pittsburgh Body building competition). The first week, I modified a lot, but pretty soon I was keeping up.

Click here to find out more about the Beachbody Challenge and Challenge Groups

And then I discovered Shakeology. After about 5 days, I noticed that something was different. The pain that I had always felt in my feet and joints was gone. My headaches went away. And my mood was so elevated it was amazing. Now I can’t go a day without my Shakeology!!!!! I LOVE IT!

Best of all, everything has changed. I’ve lost 12 pounds. I have more energy than ever. I sleep well, wake up excited and ready for my day. And all my pains are GONE, GONE, GONE! And I have all the energy I need to play with my grandbabies and live a happy and healthy life!

I can’t give enough praise—Body Gospel and Shakeology have been a real godsend to me!

Daily Success 4/20/2013 – I abusing my body, for the past 20 years, I allowed others to abuse me as well.

Standing at only 5 feet 5 inches tall, and weighing 223 pounds takes a lot of work. But unfortunately, it was a lot of destructive work. I ate whatever was in front of me (which was almost always junk), smoked a pack a day, and had a non-functioning thyroid. I became a self-employed photographer who tethered myself to home, grocery shopped at 2 a.m. to ensure I wouldn’t run into anyone I knew, removed all the mirrors in my place and would dodge my reflection in windows like a stalker was on my trail. So not only was I abusing my body, for the past 20 years, I allowed others to abuse me as well. I was in one abusive relationship after the other.
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Emotionally paralyzed and disgusted with my body, I truly believed I had missed my chance at a healthy life. Night after night, I’d wake at 4 a.m. to the flickering of the TV filled with healthy and happy people working out and talking about transforming their lives. I’d watch with envy, wishing I was one of them. Then a friend posted on Facebook that she was recruiting people to join her Beachbody Challenge Group and said: “Healthy People Attract Healthy Relationships.” Not only did I want to be healthy, more than anything I wanted a finally have a healthy relationship. So I signed up—determined to lose weight and change my life.

Click here to find out more about the Beachbody Challenge and Challenge Groups

Turbo Jam was hard, and at first I could barely do any of the moves. But Chalene kept saying, “JUST KEEP MOVING, it’s ok”—it was as if she saw me struggling and encouraged me at the exact moment I wanted to quit. When the videos were over I’d pull out the cards and practice the moves very slowly. Chalene stressed it was more about technique than how high you kick, so I kept moving, and kept trying. On the days I didn’t do the videos, I’d walk, bike, kayak, or just dance around my house. The more I moved the quicker the fat melted away.

Over the past year, I’ve quit smoking and ditched the junk. My skin glows, I have tons of energy, my knees and back no longerhurt, and I can even cross my legs like a girl. So far, I’ve lost 55 lbs., 6.5 inches off my hips, 8 inches from my waist, and another 2 inches from each arm and calf. When I look in the mirror, I can’t believe it’s me!

Not only did Turbo Jam change my outer shell, but it broke me free of my inner shell and has given me the courage to take control of my life. I’m no longer in a dysfunctional relationship and now only surround myself with positive, happy, and healthy people. It’s crazy how things work, but once I made the conscience effort to try my hardest and believe in myself, everything just fell into place. I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I know that whatever comes my way, I’ll be able to handle it. I’m so proud of all my achievements and truly believe that I can do ANYTHING I want. Thanks Beachbody, you saved my life.