Disclaimer:
In the name of complete transparency I will
start off by saying that my wife is newly associated with Team Beach Body, as a
Coach. The links used in this post are tracking links in which it is possible
for her to receive a commission for. However, that is not my motivation for
writing this, we hold a similar affiliation with Advocare and I have never been
tempted to write about it.
Background:
You may have noticed that I have been a bit
absent from blog posting this summer. The drop off in posts happened when my
wife Kim gave birth to our second son on June 25th. George and Jordan are just
under a year and a half apart and our hands have been full. Having one kid is
difficult and two under two is a bit of a workout.
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My Excuse for Blogging Less. |
When my wife and I began dating in May of 2007
she was a full-time coach. In fact she had 2 coaching gigs, one at McMurry
University, and for competitive cheer at Beamers. On top of all that working
out she did with her athletes she was a regular at Golds Gym and particularly
loved Les Mills Body Pump - the owners of Golds were regularly asking her to
consider teaching the class. She was full of energy, full of life and you could
see it in the way she walked and talked. She was healthy, really healthy. Its
one of the things I loved about her, how she took care of herself. At the time
I was still in very good shape myself having been a cross country and track
athlete and health was a quality I valued.
Fast forward 7 years and here we are. My wife
just spent 2 1/2 years either pregnant or nursing and still has a few months to
go in nursing Jordan. Needless to say, her body has not really been her own for
some time and it had believe it or not effected her. Many who know her have
always and still saw her as a high energy individual who does more than most
people with a smile on her face. Its like she never stops... and it is true she
doesn't. However, she has not had the same bounce in her step or emotional
energy that comes from being as healthy as she was when we started
dating.
I mean, it is a normal thing to have different
energy levels and declining health when you compare 25 to 32 years old. I know
that for me 20 to 27 has been really difficult on my health and fitness. On top
of that, having a miscarriage followed by two kids in such a short amount of
time is bound to have an impact. In general we are a fairly healthy couple, we
try to eat fresh and healthy foods and take the boys/dog on walks down by the
lake, we have even done workout programs together. Life still had its impact on
our health and waistlines.
My Observations:
Just over 2 weeks ago my wife tried a sample of
Shakeology to see if she was going to have an allergic reaction to the non-commercially grown mushrooms. Good news is that she had no
reaction. She decided to purchase the PiYo Challenge pack that comes with the
workout program that mixes Pilates and Yoga together, and a one month supply of
Shakeology. She decided to become a coach in order to get a discount (Get a 25%discount on all future orders by becoming a coach) so that instead of $160 plus shipping and tax,
the challenge pack as a coach was only $153 after shipping and tax.
Considering that a month supply of Shakeology is normally $132 after tax, and
PiYo is normally $72 something after tax means she got a considerable discount
ordering them together.
In the past two weeks I have noticed in her a
significant change in her energy levels. That bounce in her step is much closer
to the way it was 7 years ago, virtually turning back the hands of time in the
ageing process. On top of the renewed energy, she has dropped 4 lbs and 6
inches (2 off waist, 1 of hips, 1.5 off each leg) in 2 weeks. I am really quite
proud of how well it is working for her.
Introspection
Thinking about it now I am wondering when I can
muster up the guts to start a challenge myself. I have several pairs of pants
and a few suits that I haven't been able to wear in over 2 years that would
certainly be wearable if I could have even close to the same results Kim has
had.
My experience:
I have sampled Shakeology and must admit that I
have also tried to use other meal replacement drinks in the past attempting to
fit in those suits. The biggest difference I can remember is that with
Shakeology, I was full. In all seriousness I usually finish a meal replacement
and find myself looking for second breakfast 15-20 minutes later, yet with
Shakeology I was only able to finish half and I didn't get hungry until 2 PM.
The people that make it must have guys in mind when they created the
product.
Favorite part:
The most exciting part of this whole thing to me
is it feels like my wife is becoming herself again. She is healthier and
happier every day. Its one thing to have energy from a 5 hour or similar
(temporary) energy drink, its another for energy to build back as health
increases.
If life has gotten to your energy or your
waistline perhaps you should give it a try, there is a money back guarantee so
what have you got to loose? Answer: excuses.