First and foremost, I want to thank all of you who have
followed my journey to this point. You
have sent me congratulations, encouraged me to keep going, and paid me many
compliments. You have truly been the
fuel that I relied on to help push me over the tough obstacles. Thanks very much from the bottom of my heart.
Along the way, many of you have made comments like, “I need
to do something too,” or “I wish I could do what you did.” Many of you also communicated to me that I
had inspired you.
It is with this in mind that I have decided to try my hand
at becoming an Independent Beachbody Coach.
I think it is time for me to truly try to help others achieve some of
the results that I have seen.
I particularly want to reach those in their 30’s, 40’s and
50’s. We are going to live longer than
any generation before us. At forty, none
of us should be looking in the mirror at a body that cannot take another 30-40
years. We should be living to about
seventy-five or eighty years old. We all
have ancestry that lived lives of working people. My grandmother was brought up on a farm in
Canada. Physical work was done every
day. It is something she and her sister,
my aunt, carried with them into their 90’s.
It’s what sustained them.
We do not live that way anymore. As a result, 65% of us are overweight. 30% are obese. By 2030, the government is estimating that
11% of us will be “Severely Overweight.”
That new category is for those who will be 100 lbs or more
overweight. One Hundred Pounds. There are super models that weigh one hundred
pounds. While I wouldn’t mind having one
with me all the time, the thought of having to carry her around all day long
makes me cringe. That’s a joke but I
think you get my point.
I believe we need to proactively set ourselves up to have
the best physical machine possible so that we can ‘go the distance’ and enjoy
all the years of our lives and have them be truly ‘quality years’.
I am going to put together my very first Challenge
Group. The idea of this group is to
provide a place and time for a team of us to set some health and fitness goals
and try, ourselves, to make the changes we want, know, or simply dream, of
making. It is also a way for you all to
see the different Beachbody programs at work and hear first-hand from some
people actually doing them. Most of us
will be doing them for the first time.
That’s important. You really need
to know how YOU would fare the first time out.
The Challenge Group will run from June 1st to
July 30th. Sixty days. Your program doesn’t have to be that
long. In fact, I have chosen three
programs that I can recommend. Each of
them varies in the total time commitment, the time you need each day and the
degree of difficulty. The program you
are on is not nearly as important as making sure you do it as often as you can
(hopefully as set out in the program), exert yourself as much as you can while doing
it, and watch what you eat.
It is my goal to make this first Challenge Group a stepping
stone to the same good exercise and nutrition that I have built over the last
four years. I also think it is a great
place to introduce better eating habits and pick up some knowledge on exercise,
nutrition and motivation.
The changes I have made in my life, and I have said this
over and over, are not miraculous. I am
not special. I am no different than
you. Everything that I have done can be
replicated by you.
I am not asking you to try P90X or Insanity first. For many that is a daunting task. You don’t make the changes we need to make by
running a marathon.
Every change starts with one step. When I first started losing my weight four
years ago, I walked. Every day I put
aside 40 minutes and walked as fast as my body would allow. It didn’t allow much. The goal was to exert myself and see some
sweat. At some point, I jogged from
telephone pole to telephone pole. Then I
jogged the whole time. Then I ran
harder. Later on, I started to do
pushups and situps, to get back the muscled strength that had gone away with
the dieting and running. Then I took on
P90X.
It is for this reason that I am proposing three ways to be
in this group, in reverse order.
1) Insanity. If you are
in shape and want a real challenge, this one is for you. It is difficult and lasts 60 days (6 days per
week with one off-day). This is the one
I will be doing. As your leader, I
really should be setting the example.
2) Slim in 6. This is a
program for beginners that, in 6 weeks, will get you in peak shape. It will also, if you eat right, have you
looking much better by your 4th of July outings. It is 6 weeks and starts at 25 minutes per
day. By week 6, you are at about 45
minutes per day, but don’t worry, you will be ready for it.
3) Your own program.
Some of you are going to a gym and/or working with a trainer. If it is working, stick with it. Get in the Challenge Group, log your goals
and progress, and see other’s in action.
You might even decide, after seeing how everyone is doing, that you want
to push yourself to try P90X or Insanity.
You might even try some other products like the Ultimate Reset (a 21 Day
Detox and Cleanse that will reset your body for optimal performance and
weight-loss) or Shakeology (a patent-pending meal replacement drink that will
enhance your ability to exercise and complement your weight loss goals in your
existing workout).
This can be done in 60 days and, for many of you, the
progress and changes you see will be the first steps to understanding how you
can positively affect the way you live the rest of your life.
I hope many of you will join me.
You cheered me on.
Now it is time for me to see if I can do the same for you. Let me pay it forward.
Sixty days is not long.
I have been maintaining my fitness and weight for four years. My diet in 2008 lasted about four
months. P90X lasted 90 days. Insanity is 60 days. Routines are from 30 minutes to an hour. One step at a time.
I hope you join the Group and let us cheer you on. Thanks again.
For everything.
