May 17th, 2012
Today’s Success Story is from Denise B and is a classic example of how Team Beachbody organically enters lives and permanently changes them for the better. There’s no quick fix, no magic pill, no easy route – just hard work, peer support, sound nutrition, and great products. This is more than fitness, it’s about saving lives. Denise will tell you, in her own words:
Tell me about your life before you started ChaLEAN Extreme. How did you feel about yourself and your body? I was like a lot of other full-time working mothers. Busy working, getting three children to and from after-school activities, and juggling a home with a 12, 9, and 7 year old. I was busy taking care of everyone else and not myself. The pounds slowly crept on. My clothes kept getting tighter and before I knew it I was completely out of shape and wearing bigger clothes to hide the extra weight. It got to where I never wanted to get dressed up or have pictures taken of me because I didn’t feel good about myself. I had no energy and plenty of excuses not to work out. I was depressed, which only continued this cycle I was on. In short, I had bad eating habits, didn’t exercise, and lacked energy or enthusiasm for the things that used to be fun to me.
What inspired you to change your life and begin your transformational journey?
I used to always be excited to go to the beach and on vacation, but I was at the point where the thought of putting on a bathing suit made me not look forward to these things. I realized I needed to find a way to get back in shape and renew my energy. Around this time my brother, Chris Rutter, became a Team Beachbody coach. He explained to me how Beachbody products helped him and encouraged me to get started. And so my journey began.
Why did you choose ChaLEAN Extreme?
My brother explained how muscle burns fat and I definitely needed to burn some fat. After watching the first video (Burn Basics, Healthy Eats and the Kitchen Makeover), I really liked how Chalean walked me through everything and motivated me to WANT to change. It doesn’t hurt that she’s in amazing shape, either. I also used the Slimming Formula, which really helped curb my appetite and kickstart my weight loss. The way her program is divided into different phases is awesome. I never got bored doing the same thing day after day. The different phases push your body so you are focusing on different muscle groups and don’t plateau like you would by just doing the same workout over and over. Chalean is also very encouraging, motivating, and fun to workout with. I still look forward to her workout!
Tell us about the greatest challenge you faced. How did you overcome that challenge?
The greatest challenge I faced in the beginning was making time to workout. I would take care of everything else and put off time for exercising until I was too exhausted to do anything. My Coach was my motivator to overcome that excuse. He made me understand that I deserved to take a few minutes everyday to take care of myself and that it would change my life. He was right.
Describe the results you achieved with your Beachbody program. What achievements are you proud of? I have gotten back to the weight I was when I was 20 years younger and I feel 20 years younger. I have muscle definition in my arms, back, legs, and abs. My “love handles” are gone. I have energy that I need to keep up with my three very active kids. I was never able to run even a mile before without nearly passing out. Now I take my dog for a 1-2 mile run every day without getting winded. I just ran my first 5k at the age of 44 and came in 4th place in my age bracket! It is very exciting and empowering to be in shape and feel strong. I know I will never go back to that powerless person I was before my transformation. I am a completely different woman than before I started my Beachbody program.
How did your TeamBeachbody Coach support you on your journey?
I don’t believe I would have achieved the results I have at this point without my Coach. He encouraged me to begin my journey by trying Beachbody products. I saw the improvements he had with the workout programs so I thought it was worth a try. I still had excuses in the beginning, but he didn’t let me off easy. Once I started seeing results, then I was hooked.
How did Shakeology support your transformation ? What are the biggest benefits ?
Shakeology has been an important part of my journey. I use it as a meal replacement for breakfast each morning. It is filling and gives me energy to start my day. My job is very physically demanding and stressful so it’s a great feeling knowing I’m getting tons of vitamins and nutrients that would otherwise be very difficult to supplement.
Denise, you inspire me to work hard every day to continually develop products that can make your story a reality for everyone. This is what Beachbody is all about and Team Beachbody is what makes it happen. You heard it from Denise herself – without her Coach (her brother!) she wouldn’t have been able to achieve the same level of success. The peer support is huge!
Congratulations Denise!
If you have a story like Denise’s please email our Success Stories Team with your story and before/after photos.
March 31st, 2012
On Sunday, April 1st, we’re no fools and this is no joke.
We’re kicking off the Team Beachbody Photo-A-Day Challenge! We’re asking you to document 30 days of your fitness journey to inspire and motivate others. It’s a combo of fun, fitness, accountability, and support and it’s going to help you engage your social networks and build your business. Here’s how it works…
Every day in April take a picture according to the daily prompt (see pic above) and upload to the Team BeachBody message boards and automatically be entered to win a prize!
We’re giving away 30 prizes in 30 days, including P90X Deluxe kit, RevAbs and 10-Minute Trainer kits, Chocolate Shakeology,Tropical Strawberry Vegan Shakeology, Energy & Endurance, P90X iPhone cases, T-shirts, water bottles, foam rollers and so much more!
You can also use the iPhone app, Instagram to shoot and share photos to your social networks. See that pic above and use the corresponding hashtags. For example on day 1 you would use these #TBBPhotoADay #Day1 #BeforePicture.
Don’t forget to follow @Teambeachbody and @beachbody on Twitter!
Spring into fitness this April and win some awesome prizes with your pics! I look forward to seeing your snapshots on the message boards and social media. Knowing our coaches and customers, this is gonna be some serious fun!
March 16th, 2012
Shakeology turns 3 today! Personally, I don’t think I have missed a single day of Shakeology goodness with “The Healthiest Meal of the Day” since it started shaking up our world on March 16, 2009.
Thanks to you and thousands of other Team Beachbody Coaches, Shakeology has become the fastest growing brand in the company, its revenues have skyrocketed in just three years, and it has been a cornerstone of our continued growth.
3 years. 3 flavors. Thousands of people fueling their bodies with the critical nutrition they need – all thanks to you and Shakeology!
As luck would have it, Beachbody Challenge Quarterly winner Diana and her family stopped by our headquarters today and they had an impromptu birthday celebration, enjoying a batch of frosty Shakeology together. Little Serenity (who’s younger than Shakeology) was so inspired, she repped out some pull-ups in our gym!
So please, grab a few candles, blend up this “cake recipe“, raise your (shaker) glass and join us in a toast to the healthiest toddler around! (Though it looks like Serenity could give Shakeology a run for its money!)
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear Shakeology, Happy Birthday to you!
March 7th, 2012
In case you missed my live chat from Beachbody Headquarters on Monday, here are some of the top questions we received and a rehash of my responses:
Q: What’s the deal with Tai Cheng? When can we expect it?
A: Tai Cheng is due in the warehouse by the end of March! And the first month of Tai Cheng is great to combine with The Beachbody Ultimate Reset which is a true nutritional reset breakthrough coming in April. We are also planning to offer Tai Cheng as part of a Challenge Pack!
Q: Can I workout/train while doing the Ultimate Reset?
A: In a word – no, except for Tai Cheng (the first week of Tai Cheng) and some light walking and light stretching. In a few words – we don’t recommend vigorous exercise of any kind. Here’s why: Your body is taxed right now from all the things you’ve been ingesting. All these toxins and chemicals have a very difficult time releasing from your body. You can’t work out while you are cleaning out your system and expect it to focus on the reset, it’s too much to ask – you have to give your body time and allow your organs to focus on resetting. I spoke to a Coach last week who was going through her own cleanse and she felt flu-like symptoms around the second week. That’s normal. That’s what’s going to happen. On the flip-side, many of our test groups reported coming back stronger, leaner, and faster after the 21 days. It may be tough not to work out for three weeks, but it will be worth it! The Ultimate Reset is the time to take a breath, give our crazy lives a little pause.
Q: Can we still sign up for P90X Certification?
The first weekend is sold out and the next few weekends are very close to selling out. We are pacing ourselves to release more dates, but we don’t want to overwhelm our customer service any more than we already have (I apologize for the millionth time for the hold times – we are doing the best we can to add agents to keep up with the staggering growth of Team Beachbody!) Keep an eye on my blog for breaking news about more certification dates.
Q:Will you be flying around for the upcoming Super Saturday?
I’m in Philadelphia on Saturday, April 14th and Dallas on Sunday, April 15th.
Are there any plans of releasing a Tropical Strawberry flavor of Shakeology that is non-vegan?
Sales of the Tropical Strawberry Vegan are even better than we anticipated. This flavor is staying Vegan, but we are investigating our options on expanding Shakeology – that’s all I can really say about that.
I want to leave you guys with one more thing…
I read a lot about what theories people have on how to end the trend of obesity. Some are about government intervention, health insurance companies getting involved, or a miracle drug. But none of them have it right. The only way the trend of obesity ends is if four things come together:
• Great effective fitness
• Great effective nutrition
• Peer support
• Awards for achieving results
There’s only one company that puts those four things together: Team Beachbody.
Say it with me. Say it out loud. I commit to building a challenge group of five or six people to start by next week.
Do stop trying until you get that challenge group built!
Okay, just one more thing (for real this time)… if you watch this video, you might just see another rendition of the Cupid Shuffle Scuffle. Just sayin’.
Video streaming by Ustream
February 28th, 2012
Yesterday at Beachbody Headquarters we were joined by (fresh off the plane) Shakeology Formulator Darin Olien and Senior Health, Nutrition and Fitness Consultant Isabelle Daikeler to talk Shakeology, specifically the new Tropical Strawberry Vegan we have all been downing (and loving) the past few weeks.
Darin and Isabelle fielded some great questions and provided wonderful insight into our newest flavor of The Healthiest Meal of the Day:
- On the back of the Tropical bag, the vitamins aren’t listed like they are on Greenberry and Chocolate. Why?
Ideally, we want all of our vitamins and minerals to be present in the foods we eat. The only reason vitamin and mineral supplementation first showed up on the market is because our foods started to decline in quality. The subordination of nature is where we want to be, not thinking we can outsmart the earth. We are just now getting a greater supply of vitamins and minerals and that is what you are finding in the Tropical version. In short, the vitamins and minerals your body needs are present in the natural ingredients and assimilated easier that way. The levels will vary because we are leaving the foods in a pristine state. We are going back to the principles of relying completely on what you can find in nature.
- Why are the probiotics in Tropical different?
Probiotics means for life. It’s dealing with micro-organisms that are controlling the immune system, our metabolism, detoxification, and nutrient absorption. Due to new technology we now have a mother strain that is able to get through the small intestine, into the large intestine, and break out into different strains the body can utilize. That is what you find in the new Tropical Shakeology.
- What does Vegan mean and why is Tropical Vegan?
Vegan is no animal sources whatsoever – 100% plant-based. We continually evaluate which foods the body can best utilize and found plant proteins are easier assimilated than other protein sources.
- How should you incorporate Shakeology into your daily life?
Any way you can! No, but seriously, just get it in your body. Find out what works for you. It could be a snack or a meal – it’s whatever YOU WANT. Darin adds a coconut-almond milk blend to his Shakeology. Isabelle tosses in all kinds of Superfoods – moringa, alkalizer, mushrooms, lots of greens. (It doesn’t even taste like Tropical after she’s done with it).
- Why does Soy Protein get a bad rep?
The supply of soy is very dangerous. More than 95% of the soy in the world is genetically modified. There are some good versions of soy, however. Tempeh (fermented soy) is fantastic. Natural fermentation has been removed from our natural food chain. In the new Tropical formula we’ve added fermented foods and the benefits are tremendous.
We’re going to add Moringa oleifera. It’s probably the most powerful Superfood we’ve ever come across. It’s an ugly tree with potent green leaves. Darin was able to meet some of the head researchers in Senegal and discovered Moringa has up to 60 antioxidants, 5x as much calcium as milk, and up to 20x the amount of Vitamin A found in tomatoes. We are constantly searching for the best possible ingredients. Also down the pipeline, for our customers who want the ultimate purity, assimilability in nutrition and freedom from toxicity, we are introducing exciting new products as part of our Beachbody Ultimate™ line. Any products bearing the Beachbody Ultimate™ logo are effective at nurturing the body’s natural ability to heal itself, while enhancing the body’s organic processes.
Here’s the logo to look out for:
Darin and Isabelle talked for about an hour so in case you missed the live chat and are dying for more nutrition talk, you can watch below or check it out here.
Darin Olien and Isabelle Daikeler
