Are you up for the Challenge??

Summer time is here and this time of year can be the most fun. For some, just the thought of putting on a tank top and shorts or a bathing suit just sends chills up their spines. If you are looking to get in the best shape of your life NOW is the time! No more putting off what you can start today. For a limited time (ending July 31st) you can join one of my Challenge groups for a mere $14.95!! Yes you heard me right! $14.95!! I spent that much on 2 Subway sandwiches the other day!

For $14.95 trial offer you get:

- a workout program (P90X, Turbo Fire, Brazil Butt Lift)
- 30 days of Shakeology
- 30 day Club membership (access to message boards, a top notch meal planner, etc)
- FREE coaching
- Accountability

If you aren't completely satisfied with the results you are getting you can send it back for a refund within the 30 days. If you are loving your results and how good you feel (and you WILL) then after the 30 days you can pay for the Challenge Pack. This gives you a FULL 30 days to try out our premium nutritional drink Shakeology along with a program that has proven results!

You will not be left hanging! Each challenge group will only consist of 5 people. It will be a closed group where we can share our thoughts, questions, frustrations, triumphs, etc without the feeling like we are being judged. It is true FITNESS + NUTRITION + SUPPORT = SUCCESS. I will be there every step of the way and even after the challenge ends. This is a true lifestyle change.

Don't you owe it to yourself to see just what you are capable of? This is the opportunity for you to completely change your life!

Want to join as a Coach and help pay it forward all while getting yourself financially AND physically fit? Join as a Coach when you get your Challenge Pack and the coach sign up fee is WAIVED!

If you want more details, information or need help deciding which pack will fit you best please go to http://www.GettingFitWithKaren.com and click on the  "contact me" button.

I can't wait to share this journey with you and help you become the best person you can be!

Military Discount Available!

To show our thanks to our service men and women Beachbody offers all active duty military members or spouses the opportunity to become a Beachbody Coach for free! Make a part time or full time income, work from home or just enjoy the 25% discount off all of our awesome Beachbody products. If you would like more information on this send me a message and I will walk you through how to get started.

 

Ultimate Reset - Recap and Thoughts

As you may have noticed I did not blog daily on the last week of the Ultimate Reset. The reason for this was there really was not much going on different each day. The last week was a little rough due to the lower calorie count. There is an option to add some grains to the meals in the last week if you need them. Phase 3 I started the Revitalize supplements. These supplements were to reintroduce the healthy flora to my digestive system. I can say I was happy I was no longer having to drink the "tea" - the detox supplement.

Overall I was very happy with my results from this program. I stayed at a loss of 13.2 lbs. I lost an inch in my waist and an inch off each thigh. I am sleeping better and have more energy throughout the day. I did not ever have that bloated feeling. I feel "lighter" and just overall healthier. I am continuing on with the supplements and adding them to my daily routine. 

I think that everyone could benefit from this program. If you are having issues with food - bad habits such as late night snacking, eating out of boredom, etc then I think you could benefit from this program. It is not easy. I am not going to lie to you and tell you it was simple and all unicorns and rainbows. There were days that I wanted to punch someone in the face. There were days I had so much energy I didn't know what to do with myself. Day 14 was my "emotional release" day and was the hardest day for me out of the whole 21 days. I think I experienced every emotion there is. I am not sure how my husband and family put up with me that day but I thank them for the support. I did not get my cholesterol checked before the reset but have heard a lot of participants talking about 30+ point drops in their levels. 

I know a lot of you are thinking "Well what do we do after the 21 days are over?" The reset comes with a guide to tell you what to do post-reset. They recommend you continue the reset going backwards - slowly introducing foods back into your diet so you will know if you have any kind of reaction to them. It is hard to tell if our body has an aversion to a certain food (dairy, grains, etc) because we eat them all at once and don't know what is causing the issue. I can tell you what happened to me. By the end of 21 days I was dying for a piece of chicken or steak. I went out to eat with my family and I ate some things that I should NOT have eaten. My body let me know it was not happy with my decision. I had stomach pains, bloating and horrible indigestion. During the 21 days of the reset I did not have to take my acid reflux medicine one time. I am craving fruits and vegetables all the time. I made a trip to Sams Club tonight and loaded up on fruits! 

If you are interested in doing the Ultimate Reset please let me know. There are great support groups and I will walk you through it and be there every step of the way. Articles are coming out daily about how environmental toxins are causing cancer and so many problems for us. Obesity is OUT OF CONTROL! I learned so much about myself and my habits while doing this. I now know how to eat clean and enjoy healthy foods. I tried all kinds of food I would probably have NEVER eaten if it weren't for this program. It has a money back guarantee so what do you have to lose? People come to me day after day asking for help and all I get in return are excuses... "I don't have time, I can't afford it" etc. What I hear is "I am not ready to change. I'm not worth it." You are worth it! Why do people justify spending $50 to go out to eat at a restaurant or $10 to grab fast food - stuff that is killing them but they won't justify spending money on something that is going to add years to their life, help them lose weight, feel better about themselves, etc?? I don't understand it! I was one of those people. I finally got fed up. I realized that nobody was going to take care of me. It was up to me! I have a family to be here for. It is my job to be here and be present and be healthy. I want to set good examples for my daughter. You can either spend the money now on getting yourself healthy and in shape or you can spend the money later in medical bills and prescriptions. Its up to you. We all have a choice and that choice is yours. I still don't understand why some people come to me for help because I know that before I even give my suggestion they already have their excuse locked and loaded and ready to go. Does it make them feel better by asking? Asking doesn't get results. You have to do something about it! When you decide you are finally worth it and are ready to put yourself first and drop the excuses I am here to help. I will be here every step of the way. Your time is now. I would pay twice as much as I did for the Ultimate Reset to get the results I got. I lost weight and found out what it feels like to feel healthy. I learned lessons I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Lessons I will pass on to my daughter. That to me is priceless.

If you have any questions for me about the reset or anything at all let me know. I am here to help. You have to want it for yourself first. I can't make you do it. When you decide you want it I will help you succeed.

~ Karen

Ultimate Reset Days 14/15

I am into Phase 3 now. I was happy when I chugged down that last detox yesterday. There hasn't been much change in how I am feeling or weight. The food has still been really good. I had coconut collard greens yesterday. That was the first time I have ever had collard greens and they were awesome! Today I started taking the Revitalize supplements for the last phase.

Overall this reset has been a big learning experience. I have learned that I have an issue with mindless snacking. I snack out of boredom. This reset has given me the opportunity to try a lot of foods I would have never have even thought about trying before. I have learned how to make good decisions when it comes to the kinds of food to buy at the store and how to prepare tasty, healthy and clean meals. I will not continue to be vegan or vegetarian after the reset is over. However, I plan on cutting back on my amounts of red meat and focus more on chicken and fish. I will probably keep a vegetarian meal in there at least once a week.

I will post a full recap when my 21 days are over.

~ Karen

Ultimate Reset Day 13

Where do I even begin?? Today was Day 13 and probably one of the worst days I have experienced by far. I slept 12 hours last night and felt alright when I got up this morning. I made my breakfast and ate while I decided what I would do for the day. As the day progressed my mood went downhill. Not sure if it is PMS or the detox finally starting to hit me but it was a rough one. I was in a very bad mood - very irritable and just didn't want to be bothered at all. I was actually mad that I was feeling this way. After venting my frustrations I was told by a person who has moderated all the groups that have gone through the reset and he told me that I was finally hitting the detox part that most people experience in Days 3-5. Now I knew I had it too easy in Phase 1.. I was not prepared for this. There is what people are calling the "emotional release" part of the detox phase where you can get super emotional - crying, mad, etc.. well I think today was it for me. I experienced every emotion possible. I was mad, downright angry. Then I was sad, tired, frustrated, then elated. It is crazy! As the day went on I felt the anger and frustrations going away. By night I was back to normal and felt fine. I made my dinner and watched baseball and just had a good evening. 

I am telling you this because I want you to know that this 21 Day Reset is not something to venture into without mentally preparing yourself. It is not all rainbows and unicorns. There are rough patches and times when you may want to quit. You have to just sit down and remind yourself WHY you decided to do this. The benefits are going to far outweigh any emotional issues you may have from time to time. I explained to my husband this was part of it and to just bear with me. I am the kind of person who when I get mad I just get quiet.. so hopefully it wasn't to difficult on him this afternoon. I am not telling you all of this to scare you out of doing it. I think we can all benefit from this program and know that this is just a little bump in the road. Tomorrow is the last day of the Detox Phase and I start the Restore Phase on Monday. Just know that if you are on the fence of wanting to try this I still highly recommend it. Just don't go into it thinking its going to be a cake walk. You will have good times and bad times but the good will always overcome the bad. The feeling you will have during this is like no other feeling in the world. You can rest easy knowing what amazing gift you are giving yourself by doing this. There is TONS of support out there when you are doing it. You just have to decide to do it and commit to it. Its a 21 day journey of mental and physical change. You are setting the blueprint for the rest of your life. I have learned things during this 21 days about myself that I may never have known. I know now what I am supposed to feel like after eating, what it is like to have energy that lasts all day, what it is like to get good sleep at night.. These little things combined can make huge changes in your life. The best thing - being able to tell yourself and others that YOU DID IT. You made it through the program and you are now healthier than you have ever been. This may not be the last blip in my journey but I know what to expect now and how to handle it. 

Until tomorrow...

~ Karen

Ultimate Reset Day 11 and 12

I am lumping these two days together in a post because they were pretty uneventful and not much has changed. The food has still been good and I am still feeling good and sleeping really well at night. Overall this week has been pretty mundane.

The only issues I have noticed popping up here in Days 11 and 12 are cravings. They have finally hit and hit like a ton of bricks! I have also been hungry for 2 days now. What I am hearing from most people is that they are never hungry. The issue I am having is I am a hardcore carnivore and this transition to vegetarian/vegan has been brutal for me. I feel like I am in a cartoon where everything I look at turns to a piece of chicken or steak. The issue I am having are the "main" dishes on this reset are things I would normally consider a side dish. Therefore, the portions are HUGE and by the time I am half way through eating them I am so tired of eating it that I just don't eat any more. This is why I am staying hungry. If I could stomach the whole portion I would be stuffed! I really miss having a protein like chicken or steak as my main dish. I love fruits and vegetables but could never make them my main source of food. Also, I have been putting myself in situations that aren't helping me at all. I have been spending a lot of time with family (which I always do) but nobody in my family is doing this reset with me. So I am sitting at their houses at night eating my pilaf or vegetables while they dine on steak, chicken and all of my former favorite foods. It has been hard and a true test of my willpower. It would be a lot easier on me if I just stayed at home alone with my food but lets face it.. I am not going to isolate myself because of this. I am currently on Day 13 and can see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is a 4 week transition phase at the end of the reset that slowly reintroduces the foods you phased out back into your diet. To be honest, its going to take every ounce of my willpower not to throw a Porterhouse on the grill come Day 22!

I am not going to sugar coat this and tell you its been all unicorns and rainbows. It has been hard. Not having anyone doing it with me has made it even harder. Having my husband at home fixing grilled cheese sandwiches while I am eating salad and vegetables is not ideal. I HIGHLY suggest if you are going to take the plunge that you find someone to do it with you, support you and be there for you every step of the way. It would be a lot easier if he was eating the same foods as me instead of stopping by the drive-thru at Wendys as soon as I finish telling him how hungry I am! I have been adding snacks here and there which is an option on the reset. They suggest you try to get by without them if possible but I am the type of person who gets really irritable when I am hungry. What's the old saying? If momma bear isn't happy nobody is happy? Well I have a 6 month old here that I can't take out my frustrations on so I am supplementing with snacks to keep myself sane. I have tried to follow the guide 100% but will fess up and be honest and tell you I ate a dinner last night that was not reset approved. I did not prep ahead of time and therefore did not have my food with me while I was out. After I ate I am not sure if I felt worse due to the indigestion or the guilt. It has been eating me up inside that I was so weak as to let that happen. I had made it 12 days with no slip ups and in one moment of weakness let myself down. Now did this indiscretion lead me to quit the reset completely? NO WAY IN HELL! I am back on the saddle and was up this morning telling myself that the past is the past. I am letting it go and moving on and forward and finishing this thing out on top. To me one slip up in 12 days is a huge feat. I have been a LOT stronger than I thought I was. It has been a hard road but how I am feeling now has made it all worth while. At my peak I was down 13.2 lbs. Right now I am bouncing up and down 1-2 lbs because I am a female and well my girls know what that means. I had my reset breakfast and am about to prep my lunch and dinner. 

Today is a new day. Only 8 days left. It is also VERY exciting to only see 5 detox packets left in my box. I will be glad when that is over. 

Until tomorrow ~

Karen

Ultimate Reset Day 10

Today was Day 10. After the really bad headache last night I still wasn't feeling great when I woke up this morning. I was a little sick to my stomach but the headache was gone. Once I got breakfast in me and drank my water I was feeling much better. 

The menu today was a lot of the same stuff. Breakfast was a fruit plate, lunch was a microgreen salad and sweet potato/roasted red pepper bisque and dinner was quinoa pilaf and steamed broccoli. 

Overall I am still feeling good and even though the weight loss has slowed down it is still steady. I am sitting at 12.2 lbs lost. Detox week has been better than I expected.. I will be glad when I get to quit drinking that drink though because it tastes like tea.. and I can't stand tea!

Until tomorrow..

~ Karen