Spend less time with people that whine, complain, and spend their lives wishing and hoping for success but do nothing to achieve it.  You are a GOAL-GETTER!!

~ Chalene Johnson

How to Create Balance in Your Life

I am a mom, a wife, a substitute school teacher, a part-time office assistant, recently finished my elementary teaching certification, and I have a growing online fitness business.  I have had to learn a few things about balancing it all.  Fortunately for me there are experts on the subject of balancing my family life with my work life and my fitness life, and my personal life.   Just saying it like that makes me think I should be tired, but the truth is I have lots of energy and I am not tired, most of the time.  I think that is in large part because I have found a way to make it all work for me and I enjoy everything I do.  No, that does not mean that I enjoy cleaning the toilets or grocery shopping, but I do enjoy having a home that is clean and neat and a pantry and refrigerator stocked with healthy foods.  So while I may not enjoy each and every task, I do enjoy the rewards of those tasks.  My goal today is to share the things I have learned about balancing all these facets of my life with you so that you can better balance yours, regardless of your pursuits.

1.  Define what your priorities are.  This step is critical and without it you are setting yourself up to feel like you are spinning your wheels without making progress.  Take the time to list what your top 5 priorities are.  And when you do this, don't make the mistake of being vague.  If your family is priority number 1 then be specific.  Is it spending time with your family?  Is it providing financially for your family?  Is it making sure you sit down every night at the dinner table with your family?  Make sure you define it specifically, that will help you later on.

2.  Set some goals.  What is it that you want to achieve?  Whatever they are, list your goals.  Keep your list of priorities handy so you can make sure the goals you are setting are in line with your priorities.  If the goals you have written on your list don't match, you will always feel out of balance.  You will feel like your life is pulling you in one direction and your passions another and balance will seem like a distant dream.  This is not to say that your goals and dreams need to change completely.  There may be a way to tweak them to be more in line with your priorities.

3.  Create a Daily To-Do List.  Chalene Johnson calls this a CCDMTDL, otherwise known as a Carefully Crafted, Diligently Maintained To-Do List.  And to be honest her way of explaining this is what propelled me into a life filled with glee.  Once you have brainstormed your ideas on paper and broken down your goals into action items you can begin your To-Do List.  I have items on my To-Do List that are there each and every week, items that are there daily and items that come and go as soon as they are completed.  The point is you need to have your list so you know each and every day what must be done.  That also allows you to know when you can stop and enjoy some down time.  I use Task App on my DROID called "Check It Off" but there are others that may work better for you.  You will need to find one that suits your needs.  I like having it on my phone because my phone is always with me.  I definitely recommend Chalene's Car Smart CD on Creating a To-Do List as well as her FREE 30 Day Challenge that walks you through the process.

4.  Schedule, Schedule, SCHEDULE. Now that you have your To-Do List you have to the tasks into your daily schedule.  I like using Google Calendar because I can update it either from my phone or my computer and have it at all times.  I do not have the sort of schedule that says I am at work from 8-5 every day.  My schedule fluctuates, sometimes I don't know what I am doing or where I am going until 6am.  But, I have my To-Do List handy all the time and I can schedule my day first thing in the morning. That way I know when I have to pack lunches, clean toilets, call customers, write blog posts, socialize on Facebook, etc.  Yes... I even schedule my Facebook time, otherwise I would get lost there for hours!  Whether you create your daily schedule every morning or every Sunday night for the week to come, make sure you do it.  This is critical to your success.  Also, don't forget to give yourself a little extra time.  You never know when your sister will call with a crisis, you will get stuck behind a slow driver, or the 3 page email you just typed will get itself lost in cyberspace because your computer freezes.

5.  Recharge your batteries.  With a task list a mile long and only 24 hours in a day you may be thinking that you will have to work from sun up to sun down with no time to relax.  That is not true.  The point of your list and schedule is to allow you to get your work done, make forward progress each and every day, and STOP when you have checked off the items on your list for that day.

If you find that no matter that you have a To-Do List and a schedule you find yourself procrastinating, check out Eat That Frog! By Brian Tracy.  It has made a huge impact on me and it is one of those books I have committed to re-reading every January!

I hope that these steps that have helped me find balance also help you.  Let me know if you have any questions.  I appreciate each and every comment left here on my blog.

Why I Became a Beachbody Coach

I would like to share with you why I became a Beachbody Coach, some added benefits I hadn't counted on, as well as what it means to be a Beachbody Coach.

I became a coach while I was in the process of achieving a 50lb. weight loss success story.  I want to be very clear here.  I did not achieve the 50lb weight loss first.

My story begins with a late night, a heavy heart and a spunky blonde.

My heart was heavy because I was heavy.  My weight was something that I constantly thought about.

Every morning when I would get dressed,

every time I went to buy clothes,

every time I had an event to dress up for,

every time I walked out of my house,

and every time I passed a mirror.

Now don't get me wrong, I know that beauty can be only skin deep.  We have all met people who are stunning on the outside but after talking with them for only a few minutes you can see they don't have a light shining through their heart.

It wasn't just my appearance that gave me a heavy heart, it was the insecurity I felt.  It was the frustration I felt when nothing in my closet fit.  It was the sadness I would feel when I looked in the mirror and couldn't believe that I had let myself get to that point. My weight, the discontentment with myself and the constant feeling of failure affected my confidence and self esteem.  I felt horrible about myself and I hid that from everyone.

One night I was watching TV and an infomercial for Turbo Jam came on.  I was instantly captivated by a cute, spunky blonde that was punching, kicking and jabbing and telling me how much fun it all was going to be....

Exercise for me was hard.  I was heavy, who am I kidding... everything was hard.  But what she was doing looked fun and I thought even if its hard, if I am having fun I can try it.  So I sneaked out to where I kept my purse, grabbed my credit card, and ordered when my husband wasn't looking.   

I instantly fell in love with Turbo Jam.

Oh yes, from the very first time I did the Learn & Burn DVD, I was hooked.

It totally helped that that spunky blonde was always telling me what a great job I was doing and encouraging me every step of the way... It was hard for sure but I kept at it and it started to get easier.

About 3 months after I started Turbo Jam I saw someone on Facebook post about a new work out by Chalene Johnson, that spunky little blonde I had grown to adore, called Chalean Extreme.  I did a little research on the program and placed my order.  Again, I did it on the sly... I didn't want to tell anyone what I was up to because I didn't want them to see me fail.

ChaLean Extreme is a muscle building workout program that uses heavy weights (or bands).  It was unlike anything I had ever done before.  Research has proven that the more muscle you have in your body, the higher your metabolism.  Well, I knew that I wanted a higher metabolism.  I already trusted Chalene because of what the Turbo Jam program did for me, but I still didn't believe in me.

I went to Target and bought some adjustable dumbbells and started the program as soon as it arrived in the mail.  Up to this point, my husband didn't know I had been working out.  I was still staying home with my youngest child and would workout during the day when he was napping.  It only took a few weeks before I was able to see noticeable changes when I looked in the mirror.  I had been at it for about 6 weeks when my husband (who isn't the most observant person in the world) asked me what I had been doing to lose weight.  It was then that I very shyly took him to the basement and showed him the weights I had bought and the workout programs I was doing.

I stayed consistent and after my first 90 days with ChaLean Extreme I lost around 30lbs.  I was ecstatic!  Yes, I had lost weight but even more importantly I learned a few things about myself.

1.  I am a fighter.  I am not a fighter in the sense that if I don't get my way I am going to kick, scream and yell myself into what I want, but I am a fighter in the sense that if I don't achieve something that I want I am not going to give up.  I am going to keep trying and failing isn't the end, its a stepping stone.

2.  I have goals.  This might sound a little funny, but after being a stay-at-home mom for 8 years I forgot what I wanted to do with my life.  I was in a perpetual state of laundry, cooking, cleaning, laundry, cooking, cleaning, with a wipe-a-hiney thrown in here and there that I forgot I could do more.  I forgot that I could dream.  I forgot I could set goals.  Even more, I could achieve them.  Please, do not get me wrong.  I love being a mom more than anything.  But, that's not all I am.  I have more to offer.

3.  I am strong.  Its funny that after falling on my face after 3 pushups done on my knees and then progressing to 12 pushups on my toes has taught me that I am strong in heart.  Most of the time when I am struggling with a workout its because my head is telling me I can't... its those times that I have to dig deeper, push harder and prove that nasty voice wrong.  This does not just apply to my workouts.  It applies to every single obstacle I face.  It applies every single day.

It was after that initial weight loss success that I wanted more.  I was feeling better, I was more confident and I knew that I could achieve whatever goal I set for myself and I wanted to lose another 20lbs.  I knew without a doubt that what was holding me back was my diet.  I had made many changes to my once over processed, mostly fast food way of eating, but I was still a long way from eating the way I knew I had to in order to reach my goal.  Beachbody, being the cutting edge company that they are, was just introducing a new product that was and still is absolutely revolutionary in the health supplement industry.  The product they had just launched was Shakeology and I knew it would help get me on track with my nutrition.

It is not a miracle product and it will not cure cancer or any other disease, but if you are like me and need something that you can count on every day to give you great nutrition, increase your energy, and aid in your weight loss then I recommend it to you.  This is why I signed up as a coach.  As wonderful as Shakeology is, it is also expensive.  And, it is worth every. single. penny.  But, as a coach I was able to save money and that is always a good thing.

After talking to my coach Jenelle Summers, who also happens to be Chalene's much taller sister, I signed up to be a coach in August of 2009 and had absolutely no idea how that one little decision would impact my life.  But I will save that story for another day.

Being a Beachbody Coach means I have the opportunity to share my passion for fitness with others.  It means that when someone is struggling with motivation to workout I can encourage them.  It means when they are struggling with changes to their diet or even where to start I can share what I have learned.  I am not a fitness professional, I am not a nutritionist.  I am a coach and I love what I do.  And I am fortunate to earn an income from sharing my passion.

Its Time to Start!!

September is almost upon us with back to school looming, kids sports schedules starting and the organized chaos of life kicking off full blast!

If you struggle with balancing it all AND finding time to do the things you enjoy then I highly recommend doing Chalene Johnson's 30 day Challenge. It is completely FREE and only takes abou 10-15 minutes per day.

I recommend it to anyone that struggles with finding enough time. If you are interested, go to: http://30daypush.com/ and sign up!! You have nothing to lose!

If you have already completed the program, leave a comment for the others!! Thanks!

What's in the Turbo Fire Deluxe Box?

Turbo Tuesday!!

My friend and fellow Beachbody Coach Annette drove an hour to come to have fun with Paula and I and do a little Turbo Kick!! It was such a great time having her there!! She even brought guests! Here are a few POST workout photos that were snapped with her camera!

I don't know about you, but I think we look darn good for having just 

double-bobbed and jab-cross-hook-uppercut like crazy!!

So THIS is what it feels like to be a cheerleader... No?  Hmmm...

You HAVE to have a "jazzy hands" photo!! Love this one!!

Military Coaching Opportunity from Beachbody!

What is the Beachbody Military program for our Independent Team Beachbody Coaches?

Beachbody is excited to offer this great program for our Coaches who are actively serving in our military. If you are an active member of the military and newly enrolling as a Beachbody Coach, the cost of your business starter kit ($39.95) and your monthly business service fee will be waived for the duration of your active duty orders. If you are already a Beachbody Coach and on active duty, your monthly business service fee will be waived for the duration of your active duty orders. In either case, if your active orders have no stated end date, your business service fee will be waived for a minimum of two years.

I’m a Beachbody Coach and I’ve got friends in the military who would like to enroll as an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. What’s my next step?

It’s always a great idea to share as much information about this opportunity with your prospective Coach prior to their enrollment. Giving them a chance to review more about being a Coach can help ensure they’re well informed. Once they’ve decided to join our Coach network, you’ll want them to complete the Coach application, and submit the completed Coach application, together with a copy of their active duty orders, to our Coach Relations team for further review and processing. Paperwork may be submitted to our secure fax at (213) 201-7225 or by email to coachrelations@teambeachbody.com. If we need any further information to verify a new Coach’s active duty status, we will reach out to them directly.

I’m active military and I’d like to become an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. How do I enroll?

Please complete the Coach application, and submit the completed Coach application, together with a copy of your active duty orders or any suitable verification of your status, such as a copy of your military ID or your BIR, to our Coach Relations team for further review and processing. Paperwork may be submitted to our secure fax at (213) 201-7225 or by email to coachrelations@teambeachbody.com. If we need any further information to verify a new Coach’s active duty status, we will reach out to you directly.

Both I and my spouse are active military. May we both enroll as Independent Team Beachbody Coaches and have our fees waived?

Yes, if you and your spouse are both active military, you may each enroll as an Independent Team Beachbody Coach, and each of you is eligible to have your basic enrollment fee of $39.95 and your monthly business service fee waived. Both of you will need to complete our Coach application and submit the application along with the verification of your active status.

I’m active duty military however my spouse would like to enroll as an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. Is this possible?

Yes, absolutely. If you are active duty military and are not a Beachbody Coach, your spouse is welcome to take advantage of this benefit. If your spouse is enrolling as a Coach rather than you, your spouse will need to submit a copy of your active duty orders or other suitable paperwork, in order to qualify for this waiver. In this particular case, the name on the Coach account will be the enrolling spouse.

I’m active duty military. Can anyone other than my spouse enroll as a Coach based on my status?

No. As an active member of the military, either you or your spouse may enroll as an Independent Team Beachbody Coach to take advantage of this waiver of standard fees. If you and your spouse both wish to enroll as Independent Team Beachbody Coaches, and only one of you is an active member of the military, only one of you would qualify to have your standard enrollment fee of $39.95 and your monthly business service fee waived.

I’m active duty military and I’m already an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. What’s next for me?

Please submit a copy of your active duty orders or other suitable verification of your status, such as a copy of your military ID or your BIR (feel free to use the Coach Application Fax Cover page available HERE) to our Coach Relations team. Upon further verification of your active duty status, we will waive your monthly business service fee for the duration of your active duty orders. Please note that your initial business starter kit charges are not eligible to be refunded.

What do you mean when you say I have to be active duty military to qualify for this benefit?

At the time you submit your Coach application, we will also need you to include a copy of your active duty orders or other suitable verification of your status, from your branch of service. Your active duty orders will likely include a start and end date. Based upon the end date given, your monthly business service fee will be waived during that time period. If you are reassigned to active duty at a later date please contact our Coach Relations team for further instructions.

If you have more extensive questions regarding whether or not you are eligible for this program, please contact our Compliance department at compliance@teambeachbody.com.

If you are interested in joining TeamBeachbody as a coach please message me at Kford924@gmail.com

Shakeology Balls or (aka Shakeology No-Bake Cookies)

This recipe is from Chalene Johnson and they are TO DIE FOR! They end up being the size of a small egg. They are around 80 calories per ball with 7 grams protein.  They're not only filling for a snack, but soooo good!

8 Tablespoons PB2  - add water to the PB2 until it’s a creamy consistency (not sure what PB2 is, see below)
3 Tablespoons Natural Peanut butter  - more PB if you like them creamier (Naturally More is my favorite brand and can be found at Walmart)
1/2 Cup Shakeology
3 Tablespoons Raw Honey or Organic Blue Agave (natural sweetener)
1/4 or 1/2  Cup Instant Oatmeal or Old Fashioned Oats

Mix all in a large bowl and spoon out small (egg-size) portions. Put in freezer. Take out when ready to eat.. they thaw quick!

PB2 is a highly compressed Peanut Butter powder.  The peanuts have been pressed so much that the oil has been removed and all that is left is a powder.  It is much lower in calories (about 25 per serving) and is a GREAT addition to protein shakes, Shakeology or for adding to recipes that call for peanut butter.  For more information, or to order you can go HERE!

Make an Impact on Your Life With Chalene Johnson's 30 Day Challenge

I believe that there is more to being fit than just fitting into a pair of skinny jeans or eating a salad every day. To be truly fit you must have a fit life... the whole thing... if one part is not fit, it will affect the other parts of your life, even those you share your life with. Here is a FREE 30 day program put together by Chalene Johnson, that if you follow, will change your life in just 30 days...


What do you have to lose??

30 Days to a new you. Go into May with focus and determination, come out of it with a game plan for life. You only have until April 30th to get in on the next 30day challenge. NOW is your time. http://30daypush.com/

It's Time for the 3rd Annual Eat Clean Diet Makeover Challenge!!

It is time for the Eat Clean Diet® Makeover Challenge!  This is an AWESOME opportunity for you if you have used the Eat Clean Diet® to lose weight and increase your health!  I have been trying to incorporate The Eat Clean Diet® principles into my own personal nutrition plan more and more. In fact, one of my favorite recipe books is The Best of Clean Eating® from the Editors of Clean Eating Magazine®, which is of course published by Robert Kennedy, Tosca Reno's husband!  And most everyone interested in nutrition and fitness know who that dynamic duo is.  My understanding of the contest rules is that submissions run from June 29, 2011 through July 28, 2011.  So here's the good news... YOU still have time to significantly improve your level of fitness and your waistline between now and then.  If you are interested in using this contest as a catalyst to set some REAL goals for yourself, read the instructions for the 3rd Annual Eat Clean Diet® Makeover Challenge to find out what measurements you should be tracking and photos you need to take.  If you don't have a current workout program that will get you the results you are looking for in that amount of time, (a full 3 months from today would still leave a week before the submissions deadline) let me know.  There are several Beachbody™ programs I would recommend, and if followed correctly, will give you the transformation you are looking for in just 90 days or less.  In fact, I am sure you have heard of P90X® and possibly Insanity® or TurboFire®, but there are even more, not to mention the super-food protein meal replacement, Shakeology®.  Of course you would have me as your own personal fitness consultant to help you along the way.  So what is stopping you?  Write down your goals, email them to me for some accountability and lets get you on the way to a healthier, happier, more FIT life!