The Real Cost of Fitness

I frequently have people telling me that Shakeology & Beachbody programs are quite expensive. While the term "expensive" is fairly relative, I totally get it and I 100% felt the same way at first. With the results I got from the 21 Day Fix, I would pay double for the health and happiness I got after my first 2 rounds. In case you need more perspective though here you go....

The 21 Day Fix Challenge Pack: $176 (which is the full set of video DVD's + the charts that tell you what workouts to do each day + the nutrition guide + a recipe book + your first month's Shakeology.) With this program, you never need to pay for the workouts again. More Shakeology sells for $150 or $120 (CAD) a bag depending on what type of account you have. Shakeology replaces 1 meal a day so subtract that from your monthly food budget (roughly $4-5/day). You also no longer will need extra supplements other than your daily multivitamin (which I get cheap at Costco) because Shakeology has got it all...so subtract those too. So your ongoing cost with this fitness option is either $150 or $120 minus the money you would have spent each day on that meal and extra supplements. Your overall monthly food & vitamin budget actually drops! Become a coach and share this greatness with others and you can cover that cost PLUS make some money if you want to. 


Now let's compare to other popular monthly fitness expenditures:
- Barre Classes: $150-$200/mo (does not replace any of your meals or supplements, your food and vitamin budget remains the same)
- Yoga Membership: $110-$175/mo (does not replace any of your meals or supplements, your food and vitamin budget remains the same)
- Crossfit Gym Membership: $100-150/mo (does not replace any of your meals or supplements, your food and vitamin budget remains the same)

So you can see that Beachbody's fitness programs AND Shakeology actually cost less each month and help you save money from your grocery bill each month than the other popular workout memberships. It also helps you save time since you can do them from your home. Plus, I feel amazing. I'm in the best shape of my life, saving money on a gym membership I never used, helping others achieve their goals and making money at the same time. 

No more excuses. Invest in yourself. You're worth it! 

Why did I become a Beachbody Coach?

I've had lots of friends and family members ask me 'Why' I became a Beachbody coach...and there are a couple different answers to that question. I thought I would lay it out here and maybe that will help others with their thoughts and feelings on becoming a coach.

1. This program works. I've had a gym membership for 5+ years and was very inconsistent with going. Sometimes it would be 3x per week, sometimes 3x per month and sometimes 3x per 6 months. I hated having to leave the house to workout...especially in -30 degree winter days. I also hated when it was busy and I couldn't use the equipment I wanted to...I would usually just get frustrated and leave. It was a fairly cheap membership (~$30/month) but still...I didn't want to be paying for something I wasn't using. I had trialed monthly yoga memberships at a couple different studios, but found I didn't love it enough to do solely as my main workout regime (not to mention, it's SO expensive.) 

My best friend recommended that I try the 21 Day Fix. She had been on it and had been achieving awesome results, so I decided to give it a go. I bit the bullet and ordered the challenge pack with the Chocolate Shakeology, not really sure how I felt about it. My coach assured me to try it and if I didn't like it, we'd return it. Well thank goodness, I LOVED it!! After 2 rounds of the Fix I was down 7 pounds and 10 inches...10 INCHES!!! That's almost 1 foot gone from my entire body!! That's crazy right?? Yes it's crazy but it's REAL and I've even lost more. This program is so manageable and easy to follow. 

I found that when people asked me about my little color coded 'preschool containers' (yes, someone said that to me) I was excited to tell them about it and tell them about my results. I talked back and forth with my coach about becoming a coach, and it has been one of the best decisions I've made. As a nurse, I LOVE being able to help others and this is another way I can do that without being directly at your bedside. I love being a personal motivator and cheerleader to help women achieve their goals and getting messages from them about their weight/inches lost and how happy they are is the ONLY satisfaction I need to continue as a coach. 



2. Who doesn't love a little extra money? As much as I'd like to say I don't...I do. This business is giving me the opportunity to potentially work less hours in the hospital working the dreaded 12 hour shift work, and more hours helping people in other ways. As a coach there are so many benefits (like discounted Shakeology) that it seemed like a no-brainer to sign up! The perks you get:

• You receive a 25% commission on anything somebody buys from Beachbody through you.
• You receive a 25% discount on all Beachbody products including merchandise & supplements.
• You get paid on a weekly basis, every Thursday morning.
• Beachbody takes care of everything with customer service, shipping, and distribution. You don't handle inventory at all.
• Access to an entire team of experts on health and fitness.
• Access to marketing materials and guidance on how to build your business.
• A whole successful team of coaches who will share everything to help you succeed.

3. After starting my nursing career in Cardiac Surgery, I have seen what disease can do to a person. It was dreadful to see the condition some of my patients were in either pre or post surgery and I often thought to myself "I'd rather be dead than in their shoes." How HORRIBLE is that? I know it's horrible and no matter what, I still performed my duties to the best of my ability to help others while in the hospital either prepping or recovering from their surgery. In doing so, I made it a focus to help my patients focus on their health going forward and on disease prevention.

Beachbody gives me that EXACT opportunity. If I can be a mentor to ANYONE to help them avoid complications from dreadful diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, etc (I could list forever), that is exactly what I'll do. Nursing isn't all about starting IV's, giving medications, and changing diapers...in fact that's a very small aspect of my line of work. Health promotion and disease prevention is a crucial and integral part of any nurses' duties, no matter what age group you work with. I want to help others focus on JUST that... and for this reason I think nurses make AMAZING Beachbody coaches. We have all seen many terrible things no matter how long or short our career has been, that I believe it is motivation to help change others opinions on health and fitness.

To be honest, I sat down to write this not exactly sure what I would say...and it came flooding out so passionately and with ease. For this reason, I KNOW that deciding to become a Beachbody coach was an amazing decision in my life...what about you??

Please contact me with any questions...I'd love to chat!

xo, Victoria 

HELP! I've started a new workout program and I'm GAINING weight!

{By Chalene Johnson via interview from http://www.sparkpeople.com}

Probably the most common question I get when I release a new exercise program is, "Help! I'm gaining weight! Am I doing something wrong?" This is a common phenomenon with any new exercise program, such as Turbo Kick, Turbo Jam, Hip Hop Hustle, or others! It's especially common (and temporary) with intense strength training programs like ChaLEAN Extreme or Tony Horton's P90X.

The motivation to start a new exercise program is almost always to lose weight. However, what most personal trainers know--and most at-home exercisers do not--is that a new exercise program often can cause an immediate (and temporary) increase on the scale. (Notice I didn't say weight gain! I'll explain.) This common increase in the scale is also the reason why perhaps millions of people start and then quickly quit their resolution to get fit.

The temporary weight gain explained:

When someone starts a new exercise program, they often experience muscle soreness. The more intense and "unfamiliar" the program, the more intense the muscle soreness. This soreness is most prevalent 24 to 48 hours after each workout. In the first few weeks of a new program, soreness is the body trying to "protect and defend" the effected or targeted tissue. Exercise physiologists refer to this as delayed-onset muscle soreness, or DOMS.

This type of soreness is thought to be caused by tissue breakdown or microscopic tears in muscle tissue. When this happens, the body protects the tissue. The muscle becomes inflamed and slightly swollen due to fluid retention. This temporary retention of fluid can result in a 3- to 4-pound weight gain within a few weeks of a new program. Keep in mind that muscle soreness is not necessarily a reflection of how hard you worked. In fact, some people feel no signs of muscle soreness, yet will experience the muscle protection mechanisms of water retention and slight swelling.

Most people are motivated enough to put up with this temporary muscle soreness. Yet, many, especially those who really need immediate weight loss to keep them motivated, become discouraged and quit!

When I worked with a group of 70 test participants during the development stages of ChaLEAN Extreme, this happened. Who was the most upset and discouraged? You guessed it... the women! I'm happy to report absolutely for every single woman (and man) in our group, the weight increase was temporary and never lasted more than two weeks before they started to see a major drop in the scale. However, these people had the advantage of working with someone who was able to explain to them why this was happening and assure them the weight would come off if they stuck to the nutrition plan and stayed true to the program.

If you follow a multi-phase exercise plan, such as ChaLEAN Extreme, keep in mind that when you start each phase, your body will be "in shock" again. Don't be surprised or discouraged if you experience a temporary gain on the scale the first week of each phase.
My own personal example of this is running 10Ks. I don't do it very often, maybe once or twice a year. Even though I run on a regular basis, when you run a race, you push much harder. It's natural for me to be insanely sore the next day. It’s also very common for me to see the scale jump 4 pounds the next day from forcing fluids post race and the resulting DOMS. Even though I know the cause of it, it's still a bummer. We're all human and hard work should mean results. Hard work equals results, but our bodies are amazing machines and they know how to protect us from hurting ourselves. Soreness forces you to give those muscles a break. Ultimately you will lose the weight and you will change your metabolism in the process.
The key is understanding that this is a normal and temporary and stick with the program!

When to be concerned: 

If you experience a significant weight gain (exceeding 5 pounds) that does not begin to decrease rapidly after the second week, guess what it is? I'll give you one hint... you put it in your mouth and chew it. You know it! Your food (or calorie-laden beverages). News flash, friends… exercise doesn't make you gain weight. Consuming more food than you burn makes you gain weight!

So if after two weeks you are not losing weight and have gained weight that's not coming off, it's time to take a close and honest look at your food intake. Start using SparkPeople's Nutrition Tracker regularly, and be honest.

Moral of the story: Be patient young grass hopper. You'll be lean and mean in no time!

ARE YOU READY TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE IN 21 DAYS?

When I was first told I could lose 5-15 pounds in 21 days, I thought I was being lied to...it's definitely not a lie. Beachbody's amazing programs 21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme created by celebrity trainer Autumn Calabrese is the most amazing, life changing program. 

The 21 Day Fix programs focus on the ever-important concept of portion-control in your diet. There are seven color-coded containers that help you modify your portions and focuses on simple, clean eating. There are also 30 minute workouts that can be done from HOME and there is a modifier in every workout. Which means that no matter what your fitness level, the program can be modified for you personally. 

The 21 Day Fix Eating Plan

The program uses a method of calorie control without actually having to 'count calories.' There is NO measuring and NO counting...it is seriously SO easy! If it fits in the container, you can eat it, and you’ll lose weight.

1. Green Container (1 cup): For vegetables
2. Purple Container (1 cup): For fruits
3. Red Container (3/4 cup): For proteins
4. Yellow Container (1/2 cup): For carbohydrates
5. Blue Container (1/3 cup): For healthy fats and cheeses
6. 2 Orange Containers (2 tbsps): seeds and dressings
7. Shakeology Cup: For mixing drinks

The 21 Day Fix Workout Plan

There is a different workout daily that is MAXIMUM 30 minutes...how easy is that? Well...it's only 30 minutes but you will SWEAT. The schedule is set up by the pros, there's 1 workout for each day of the week and is repeated 3 times during the duration of the program. Autumn focuses on working numerous muscle groups at a time to maximize calorie burn, which means drop that weight!

My personal results after 2 rounds of the 21 Day Fix.

This program has done WONDERS for me and I have nothing but praises to give it. So why not you?? This is your chance to achieve your health and fitness goals with an easy to follow meal and workout plan. I am here to be your personal coach and cheerleader throughout the entire program. Comment below, or send me an email at v.nielsen91@gmail.com so we can chat!!