PiYo Infomercial Part 3: Hurry Up and Wait

The best way to describe my day was "Hurry Up and Wait."  We hurried up to get our outfits checked, and then we waited.  We hurried up to get our hair and makeup checked, and then we waited.  We hurried up to get our lunch, and then we waited.  All in all, we hurried up and waited for FIVE HOURS until they finally started taping us at 4 pm!  What a trip.

BUT during those 5 hours, I got to meet some of the biggest names in PiYo like Michele Park and I got to meet some really amazing women for whom PiYo changed their lives.  They were Beachbody coaches, PiYo instructors, moms, young women, older women, and so many different shapes and with so many different stories.  It was so hard to not scream from the rooftops (and the Facebook) all about what I was doing, and who I was meeting.  I can't wait to go back and tag all the pictures that were taken!

^^Why am I making that face with Michele Park?!  Am I kissing? Smiling? Sassy? Ugh!

I was also sneaky and got to watch some of the PiYo Master Trainers practice for their Lesson 41 shoot the next day.  Not going to lie... I kind of want to be a Master Trainer on the Talent Team now.

At some point, we were waiting so long for ANYTHING to happen, that Chalene came in (she was not hanging out with us, unfortunately) and said thank you and took pictures with us.  Obviously I video taped it.  She kept looking at me like I was a creeper, but WHATEVER!  It was Chalene!

Finally FINALLY at 3:45, the director took half of us into the group exercise room where there were tons of cameras and lights and people.  We weren't supposed to bring our phones in, but I'm a rebel and a badass now, so I did...

The way the taping worked was that Michele Park actually led the class while Chalene was being interviewed by Maria Menounos.  There were a lot of different cameras:  some on stands, some flying through the air, some being walked around by camera men.  Michele led us through a number of different sections of Drench, which is the workout on the DVDs most like a PiYo Live class.  Michele is an amazing instructor.  Every time they had to stop taping, I wanted to keep taking her class!  It was so much fun to be doing PiYo with so many people who were so good at it!

Eventually we switched out with another group.  Chalene and Maria Menounos were both in workout clothes, but I'm not sure if Chalene showed Maria any moves, since we were in another room.

I ended up having to scoot out a little before filming was over, because I had to get back to LA to catch my 10:30 pm flight home!  I slept like a baby between my layover in Vegas, landed in Philly at 8:20 the next morning.  Not before filming this video in the LA airport:

How do I even close out a story like this one, except to repeat how I began it:  by emphasizing not only the honor and AMAZEMENT at being chosen for something at which I worked so hard and about which I am so completely passionate, but by recognizing how the act of applying for the opportunity and then actually DOING IT, despite the risk and anxiety it presented totally and completely changed my life.

I have never felt more alive, more fulfilled, more passionate, more rewarded, more like a BADASS than ever before in my life.  I want and NEED to help others feel the same, now that I have been through this experience.

I am offering two amazing opportunities to celebrate my one year anniversary with Beachbody, and my new Badass status.

The first is an exclusive PiYo Challenge Group led by me, beginning on MY PiYo one-year anniversary-- Monday, July 6.  This is not your average 21 day Challenge Group.  This will be a full-out 8 week group that will follow the entire PiYo program.  In addition to the group support setting, you will receive one-on-one coaching support with meal plans, modifications and accountability.  There will also be an opportunity to learn some of the most current PiYo combinations from the PiYo Live lessons, since I am a PiYo Instructor!  For this group, I am looking for 15 people who are committed to give this program their all, who will be enthusiastic participants in our challenge group, and are open to trying new things, physically, emotionally, and nutritionally!

The second opportunity is to apply for a spot on my coaching team, Team Fit by Example.  Becoming a coach was the very first REAL risk that I took, and I haven't looked back.  In the last year I have become a better version of myself, both physically and emotionally, made amazing friends, gained confidence in leaps and bounds, found a purpose in my life both by helping others do what I've done. The thousands of dollars I've made doesn't hurt either.  I am looking for people who are looking to claim or RE-claim their Badass status.  I'm looking for 5 people who are passionate, fun, honest, CONFIDENT and ready and willing to try new things and make big things happen for themselves.  If you want more, then I want you to be an example with me!

To apply, fill out the short questionnaire below and I will contact you with more information!  I cannot wait to bring my love of PiYo and my ever-growing confidence to everyone!

PiYo Infomercial Part 2: My Adventure Begins

The week before the infomercial was a whirlwind of finalizing plans, secretly (from my husband) buying new workout clothes (they were on sale at Old Navy!) and traveling to my cousin's bachelorette party!  I think in five days I spent one night in my own bed.

The day came and I packed as light as I could:  one outfit for both plane rides, a couple workout options, and pjs.  Oh, and a yoga mat.  There would be no checking bags, no computer, no frills.  My original plan was to board a plane in Philly at 6:30 pm, change planes in Houston during a 40 minute layover, and land in LA at 11 pm PST.  Imagine how my stress level rose when, on my way to the airport, I got an alert that my plane to Houston was delayed 30 minutes.  No worries, I thought, if they know I'm coming, they should hold the plane.

Then the plane was delayed an hour.

Then an hour and a half

Then 2 hours.

I decided it was probably time to figure out another way to LA.  But first, let me take a selfie.

In 2 minutes, the helpful airport desk lady had me on a nonstop flight to LA that left at 8:30 pm and landed in LA at the exact same time.  Crisis averted!  Everybody resume normal activity!

So of course, as I'm waiting to board, I brought my inspiration, You Are a Badass, and happened to read the following quote:

So many times during this trip, I couldn't believe what I was doing.  I would have moments of anxiety and as I was trying to talk myself out of the crippling fear of during something so out of my comfort zone, I would come to the realization of how AWESOME it all was.  Seriously.

Fast forward a lot of hours through one very cold plane ride, an unexplainably long rental car line, and a scenic midnight drive over the hills of San Pedro, and I ended up at a fellow coach's house!  We had never met, and actually were not even friends on Facebook, yet here she was opening her home to me and providing an extremely comfortable bed on which for me to get in my beauty sleep.

I didn't have to be in Irvine until 11 am the next day, so I spent the morning having our own little team building session and by 9:30 am I was on my way.

I got to the gym around 10:30 and recorded this little message:

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PiYo Infomercial Part 1: You are the Chosen One

It's hard to know where to begin with this one.  I know you've all come to hear my big announcement.  And I am SO excited to tell you.  I have been holding it in for weeks and so OF COURSE I am excited to tell you.  But the more I sit on this secret of mine, the more it spins in my brain and the more I reflect on it, the more I realize that it wasn't the OPPORTUNITY that was amazing necessarily (although don't get me wrong, the opportunity was friggin awesome), it was the fact that I actually did it.  I put myself out there, more than ever before.  I took a financial risk that many thought unwise.  I fought through the anxiety of the WHAT IF I AM MAKING THE WRONG DECISION? and just. fucking. did. it.  And you know what happened?  I realized that I am a badass.

Seriously.

I found something that I enjoy, I pursued it, amazing things happened, and then I didn't make excuses. I went out and I lived my life.  I did something crazy.  Something that just a YEAR ago would have sent my nerves into a tailspin.

You know what sucks?  Regret.  I have always held true to the mantra:  Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.  And that has really worked for me.  Because my life has been filled with overanalyzing and pros and cons lists and endless conversations consulting everyone for their advice.  I have never put myself in a situation that could allow for regret.  And I am ok with that.  And I will probably continue to live most of my life that way.  I like safety and security.  I like that my savings account has money and that I brush my teeth twice a day and that I don't jump out of airplanes.  BUT for the first time in my life, I took a chance in which the outcome was unforeseen.  In which my decision was cautioned by my parents.  In which I had to spend a lot of money.  Forget regret, right?  I knew.  I knew that if I didn't take this chance, THAT regret would be worse than the regret of not doing every damn thing I needed to do to get there.  So that's what I did.

I applied, was chosen, and attended the invitation-only taping of the brand new infomercial for Chalene Johnson's and Beachbody's workout program PiYo.

You remember PiYo?  My soul workout.  The workout that saved my life.  The workout that rehabilitated my knee, my body, and my mindset.  The workout that taught me that I didn't have to run to stay in shape and be worth something, but that helped me get back into running anyway.  The only Beachbody workout that I've complete twice.  The workout that I got certified to instruct.

It all started when Beachbody posted on Facebook that they were looking for people to submit their pictures and their stories for a chance to be selected to be in the PiYo infomercial.  You had to be available to be in Irvine, California on the day of the taping.  Many people commented, "Oh man, I would love to do this, but I live far away!"  "PiYo changed my life, but I just can't spend the money to get there!"  "There is nothing I would rather do, but I just can't get out of work!"  There were a lot of "buts" in those comments.  So when one friend tagged me in the comments, and then another, and then another, I thought, "Well, why the hell not?"  I already had my story.  I already had my transformation photos.  All I needed was a video of myself doing some of the moves.  So, at 10:30 pm after a long, gluttonous Memorial Day Weekend at the beach, my husband taped some of my most impressive PiYo moves.

Everything was due to be emailed by noon on Tuesday, May 26.  I wasn't entirely sure if that meant noon PST or not, so I did it in the morning just to be safe and went about my day...

...looking up red-eyes to and from Los Angeles.  I don't even know why.  Something told me that I should be prepared. Now, I'm not going to tell you I was walking around saying, "I've got this in the bag, no problem," but I wasn't walking around saying, "This was stupid there's no way they're going to pick me," either.

The ad to apply for the infomercial stated that the people chosen would be informed on Friday, May 29.  So imagine my paralyzing shock when this happened:

I never pick up numbers I don't know.  If it's important, they can leave a message.  But you can bet your ass I picked this up.

Yup.  It was Beachbody.

They wanted to know where I was from.  My area code must not have rung a bell as being local.  When I told them NJ, they asked, should I be chosen, would I be willing and able to be in Irvine, California on the day of the shoot.  I believe what I told them was, "I would WALK to California if you picked me to be in this shoot."

"Great, we'll let you know on Friday."

Cue me texting everyone I knew.  I mean, they wouldn't call me if they weren't seriously considering me, right?  How was I going to wait until Friday to find out?

Apparently, I didn't have to.  Less than 24 hours later, this happened:

I was officially invited to the PiYo infomercial shoot.  It would be an all-day affair in Irvine, California.  Of course, Chalene herself would be there.  More specific information about location and dress code would follow.

WTF.  Cue frantic screaming phone calls.  I was going to meet Chalene.

I was, as you would expect, ecstatic.  And then, terrified.  I must be crazy.  I was going to go to LA and back, for less than 48 hours total, rent a car, find somewhere to stay, put myself in a situation where I didn't know anyone, all by myself and on my dime?!  Many people I talked to felt the same way.

"Wait, you have to pay for this yourself?  Is that a wise financial decision?  Didn't you just buy a house? Why would you do that?"

"Yes.  Probably not.  Yes.  Well..."

Because.  Because WHO applies to be in an infomercial for a product they TRULY believe in, let alone gets CHOSEN to be in it?  Because this "Beachbody workout hobby" of mine has changed my life, and this is a chance to show the world.  Because life is only life if you live a little.  Because it would make me HAPPY.

That's why.


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The 8-Hour Diet (Intermittent Fasting)

As a middle school reading teacher, something I like to talk to the kids about a lot is connotation.  Middle school is where their vocabulary starts to (or should, anyway) really pick up.  They are learning that there are other ways to "like" something, to "say" something, and to think something is "nice".  When I teach them new words or when they hear or read new words in their books, we try to talk about the best way to use those words.  Sometimes, who words can mean the exact same thing, but one can have a more negative connotation than the other.

Like the word "diet."

Did you know that in Merriam-Webster, it's not until the fourth definition that "restriction of food in order to lose weight" is mentioned?  Simply put, a "diet" is what someone eats on a regular basis for nourishment.  That's it.

I hate hate people suggest I'm on a diet because I think about the nutritional benefits of something before I put it in my mouth.  Because I try to eat appropriate portions of food.  Because generally, when I eat crap, I feel like crap.  With that being said, take the title of my next lifestyle choice with a grain of salt (no pun intended).  I am about to try the 8-Hour Diet.

Insert gasp.

I was first introduced to this idea on a Chalene Show podcast episode featuring Melissa McAlllister, who calls it the 8-Hour Ab Diet.  Basically, it is a type of Intermittent Fasting.  THAT I learned more about on a 2-part Chalene podcast with Dr. Sara Solomon.  Obviously you have some question...

What is Intermittent Fasting?
As long as you're getting about 8 hours of sleep and not eating during that time (if you are, maybe talk to a doctor...) you are fasting!  Fasting (in terms of eating) is any period of time that you are not eating.  The average person usually fasts between 8-12 hours, again, while they are sleeping.  Intermittent Fasting takes that 8-12 hours and stretches it to anywhere from 16-20 hours of fasting in a day.  This is not necessarily a daily occurrence.  Some people follow Intermittent Fasting for as few as 3-4 days a week.  Some do an 8-Hour Diet for 4-5 days and a 4-Hour Diet for the other days of the week.  It is completely customizable to your schedule and what works for you.

How does it work?
The 8-Hour Diet assumes that you are fasting for 16 hours every day and eating all of your food in an 8-Hour window.  So, you might eat your first meal at 11 am and your last meal at 7 pm.  Or maybe your first meal at 8 am and your last meal at 4 pm.  Why?  Science shows that during the first 8 hours of a fast (aka, while you're sleeping), your body is metabolizing your stored carbohydrates.  After that first 8 hours, it moves onto your stored fat.  Prolonging a fast gives your body more time to get rid of that nasty fat you might be hanging on to.  Yaknowwhatimean?

How can this be safe?
One reason (of many) that diets (when we think about deprivation of calories) often fail is because our body's metabolism adjusts to the deprivation of calories and nutrients and goes into a panic mode.  It holds onto fat, worried that you will continue to not feed it enough to keep everything running as it should.  With Intermittent Fasting, you are not depriving yourself of calories, you are just adjusting WHEN you consume them.

Who is it good for?
This lifestyle can really work for anyone!  For people who tend to "binge eat", eating all your calories in a 4-hour window might be a dream!  For people who lead extremely busy, on-the-go lifestyles, it might be a relief to not have to worry about fitting in a snack during 16-hours of the day.  For people who are constantly hungry (like me), it works because I end up being hungry for less of the day, if that makes sense, since I get to eat more food in a shorter window.  A cup of fruit hardly holds me over for 2 hours, but a big salad and a cup of fruit will hold me over for 4 hours.

What can you eat?
Technically, you can eat anything you want.  What you SHOULD eat, like with any healthy lifestyle, is a well-rounded selection of fruits, veggies, proteins and carbs that are clean, whole foods.  Here's how my day used to look:
7:30 am:  Shakeology with protein and spinach
9:30 am:  Fruit
11:30 am:  Salad
2 pm:  Greek yogurt
4 pm:  Cauliflower and hummer
6 pm:  Starving for dinner
8 pm:  Avoid the pantry

NOW, with the 8-Hour Diet, my day will look like this:

11:30 am:  Salad, fruit, greek yogurt
2-4 pm:  Shakeology with protein and spinach, cauliflower and hummus
6:30-7 pm:  dinner

I love eating and I love the idea that I can pretty much eat til I'm full (which I never do when I eat every 2-3 hours) and then I can eat again when I'm hungry a few hours later.

What about exercise?
Dr. Sara Solomon suggests intense weight training in the middle of your fast.  Meaning, I really should keep my workouts at 4:30 am even though I'm not eating until lunchtime.  However...

Why am I doing this?
I found this "diet" to be the perfect solution to the dilemma I had when trying to coordinate a time to work out with my husband.  I am an early-bird.  I have no problem (in fact I enjoy) getting my weekdays started with a workout at 4:30 am.  I have to be a work at 7:15.  My husband would rather workout when he gets home from work at 6 pm.  However, I am usually so hungry when he gets home, we sit right down to dinner and then spend the rest of the night on the couch.  How could I make myself less hungry at 6 pm so that we could both push back dinner and get our workout in together?

I am definitely going to play around with this new lifestyle.  My husband and I aren't going to start doing 21 Day Fix together until May 11, so I'll have about a week and a half to keep my current morning workouts.  After my 10 mile race is finished on Sunday, I will do some heavy lifting and see what that does for me.  Maybe I'll do two-a-days... one morning workout and one with my husband at night.  I do love working out!

For more information about Intermittent Fasting, visit www.drsarasolomon.com or this great article at Men's Health.

Personal Development Favorites

I had been thinking about being a Beachbody coach for a couple of months when I finally took the plunge.  What prompted me to literally send the "Let's do it" message to my coach was her offer of free stuff to whoever signed up with her that day.

I like free stuff.

When she finally gave me my free stuff, it was a Shakeology shaker bottle (score!) and a Personal Development book called, The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson (eh).  I thanked her and put the book in a pile somewhere.  I love to read, but I love to read Harry Potter... you know what I mean?  I'm not super interested in learning how to be a business person.

I learned about Beachbody's "3 Vital Behaviors"; the 3 things that successful coaches do every single day, and one of them was Personal Development.  I liked the idea, and I've always liked trying to understand myself more and become a better version of myself, but I didn't really know where to start.  My coaches offered book list suggestions for people who needed help with time management (not me), confidence (not me), connecting with people (not me), etc.  What can I say?  I'm perfect.

But in all honesty, I just didn't want to read books about those things.  Books are my escape.  I couldn't see myself escaping to a world where an old man told me how to make good use of my time.

Meanwhile, in the first few months of coaching, I started following different "Beachbody people" on Facebook.  One person I really enjoyed was Chalene Johnson.  I completed her PiYo program in August and then moved on to her weightlifting program Chalean Extreme.  I found her adorable and motivating.  But what I really liked, was when she talked about her family-- her husband that she's been with since college, her teenage children, her sister who is in a lot of her workout videos with her.  I'm nosy, and I like to see how other people live.

So during all this time, Chalene had been posting excessively about her Podcast-- another thing I wasn't super interested in exploring.  A few of my friends are really into them, but I just never looked into them much.  Around the end of October, Chalene posted that she had a HUGE decision to make, and she was going to talk all about it on her upcoming podcast.  Not only that, her podcast would feature clips of her talking to her business partners, family and friends.  My nosy nose perked up!  She had me hooked!  I found the Podcast app on my phone, figured out how to subscribe to her podcast, and listened with bated breath.

Her decision was all about whether to continue podcasting: Was it worth it, from a business perspective?  Of course, none of this meant much to me, since I didn't really know anything about the business aspects of podcasting, but I loved listening to her talk about it, and talk to her family and friends about it.  I started to enjoy listening to something other than music on my way to work.  I decided to check out a "National Wake-Up Call", Beachbody's weekly podcast for coaches.  The first one I listened to featured Danielle "Fit N Funky" Katz, who talked all about apps that help you make the most of your time.  Frankly, I was a little disappointed that I was driving and couldn't take notes!

And with that, I became a lover of personal development podcasts.  My favorites are ones that provide me with quick and easy advice that I can walk away with and instantly apply to my business! I'm quick to listen to episodes that feature information about social media, useful apps, and even fitness and nutrition tips.  Here are some that I am currently listening to, along with suggested episodes!


Team Beachbody Coach Podcast:  National Wakeup Call


The NWC is recorded every Monday morning at 11 am est.  It starts out with recognition of coaches building their businesses and some important Beachbody announcements for the week.  The call then features a Beachbody coach doing amazing things and most importantly, HOW they are doing those things. Every guest speaker provides take-aways that can help you improve your business!

Personal Favorites:
-Minimizing time, maximizing success (Nov 17, 2014), featuring Danielle Katz
-Michelle Myers:  Create Heart, Hustle and Muscle (Feb 23, 2015)
-ANY of the Summit 2014 podcasts (uploaded Sept 22, 2014)




The Chalene Show

The Chalene Show is my favorite!  It's a little bit of everything!  Her episodes topics range from fitness and nutrition to balance and organization to faith and relationships and everything in between, and it's all about trying to help you become a better you!  Sometimes she has guest speakers and sometimes she provides her own knowledge on the topics.

Personal Favorites (so many!):
Nutrition and Fitness:
-8 Hour Ab Diet with Melissa McAllister (Aug 20, 2014)
-Breaking A Weight or Fitness Plateau (Oct 28, 2014)
Business and Money:
-Pinterest Infinity with Natalie Jill (Dec 2, 2014)
-The Money Manual with Rachel Cruze (Mar 4, 2015)

-Rejection Rocks with Jia Jiang (Mar 2, 2015)

Life:

-Get Motivation When You're So Not Feeling It (Aug 26, 2014)

-How to Talk to Teens (Feb 12, 2015)

Build Your Tribe


This is Chalene Johnson's business-based podcast.  She only records new podcasts under the name "The Chalene Show", however, she often does episodes called "Build Your Tribe Tuesday" and then uploads them to the Build Your Tribe Channel.


Personal Favorites:
-How to Get Your Stuff Seen in the Newsfeed... (Aug 19, 2014)
-Managing Social Media Overload (Aug 26, 2014)
-Developing Your Personal Brand (Oct 14, 2014)






The Charged Life with Brendon Burchard

I like these podcasts because they're nice and short, but packed with motivation!  If I only have a few minutes while I'm washing dishes or making the bed, why not listen to an 11 minute podcast with relationship advice? Yaknowwhatimean?

Personal Favorites:
-How to Start a Dream (Especially When You're Scared) (Jan 10, 2015)
-How to Deal with Frustrating People (lol) (Dec 7, 2014)
-What Leaders Actually DO (Jul 19, 2014)







Social Media Marketing with Michael Stelzner

I "met" Michael Stelzner on a Chalene podcast and I heard he had his own podcast about social media, so off I went to download that shiz.  He interviews social media pros to help you understand how social media works, and how to use it best for your business!


Personal Favorites:
-Pinterest Traffic:  how to Use Pinterest for More Exposure (Jan 2, 2015)
-Visual Content:  How to Create Shareable Images People Love (Dec 12, 2014)
-Haters:  How to Deal With Haters and Trolls of Your Business (May 2, 2014)



So there you have it!  I'd love to know... what Personal Development podcasts do you love?!