Beachbody + Shakeology: I’m sick of it.

In life, I tend to be a bit like Dory. Just keep swimming.

I’m not really a keep your head down, don’t stir the pot kind of gal, but much like the beloved CGI blue tang fish, I am outgoing and try to keep it positive. Also much like Dory, sometimes I forget things, I swim too far and have to double back, and I can get flustered trying to keep it all straight. As long as I keep swimming, I hope to get there..

But I am not a fish, and I’m just here trying to keep my head above water. Since having babies, it seems like all I do for me is make sure I have enough air… and I needed to change.

You can't want change without change. #fitspo Click To Tweet

I wanted to be like my girls’ favorite book character, Pete the Cat. Does he ever get upset? Goodness no! He just keeps on going. That cat lets life roll off his back, and is cool as hell.

I want to feel that good.

So, I made a change.

As with anything someone gets excited about, friends have been asking What is with all the Beachbody, Shakeology, workouts, and the posts?

You know me well enough, so let’s try this analogy. I love cookies (much like my previous analogy to Oprah loving bread), so my hand is always in the jar. I want to know which cookies I like and to know that one must try them all. So I stuff my hand in, take a taste and see if I want to add it to the list of faves.

So, I wanted to test out this cookie called Beachbody. This program of nutrition and fitness in balance, to see if that was my ticket to feeling better… to being more Pete the Cat than aimless passenger in my life. And my taste test revealed only good things! It’s on the fave list for a number of reasons, but mostly because giving to myself has given me back myself.

Remember this?

If you were ever a Daisy, Brownie or Girl Scout, you may remember the “Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold.” I have always loved that line because it reinforces the thought that we can have a lot of friends, a lot of interests, without having to drop one.

In a later post, I’ll be sharing my roles, because psychologically, studies have shown we can only wear six hats and be successful (to a degree) in each. After that, we lose the power to juggle and start dropping balls. For me, those include my roles as wife, mother, daughter, friend, advocate blogger, and coach. My six are packed, but they are strong. And I wanted to share that with you.

History

My history is riddled with sob stories, depression, loss, really amazing family, abuse… but it is also one of a really amazing family, a small group of supportive friends, and a lot of hard work.

While I was a varsity athlete in high school, I struggled with cigarettes and pushing just hard enough to be good. I could have excelled, but I never let myself go that hard. So when I wanted to have a baby- when we were really ready, I had to wait.

After 12 years, I knew it was time to push. And so I did.

I quit smoking, cold turkey, by running. And I ran through a miscarriage. Through the beginning of a pregnancy I didn’t know was even a pregnancy, yet. I ran when she was born. And further and faster after. And I slowed with her sister growing inside. Again I ran after, this time with a partner who has become a sister.

But it wasn’t enough. I was just running, not a runner, per se, just someone who ran. I didn’t have a good cadence in my life, just in my steps and I needed more.

When I started drinking Shakeology, my depression was already creeping back in.
I was unhappy.
Not just with my weight, but with what was IN my body.
I was toxic, in mind and body.

So I ended up here:

I have, I am, and I will share what is important to me… my family, my advocacy, my writing and the raw realities of living with loss and depression, and yes, now, my Beachbody business.

You know my family is important and why I advocate, my history of loss and depression, how writing gives me an outlet, as well as answers and community to others. You have read recipes and reviews and all about beauty and cloth diapers and breastfeeding… parts of me I love to explore and foster growth in. My passion for cooking, trying new things, makeup, crunchy parenting, tech, fashion, and reading are all still there.

But I love another piece of me, too. A big part of me, a missing puzzle piece; my mind + body combination.

My Beachbody business was my answer to prayers said in hushed tones, at 3am, unable to sleep or think of anything but the next procedure, or bill, or how awful I would feel for not sleeping. Yet, unable to sleep because my body wasn’t tired, and somehow my mind exhausted. Carelessly putting my body through night after night of panic and stress while I collected hours of sleep better counted as naps.

We were missing

Having a business of writing for a living has been so fulfilling- meeting new people, helping families through diagnosis, but I’ve said it before: we are not defined by dwarfism. I love sharing information, but I knew there had to be more than what I was doing. Not just for the babies, but for the mamas and the papas, too. For the concerned aunties and uncles and grandparents and friends. Because while we’re so busy keeping track of everyone but ourselves, we are getting lost further each day. Caretakers are often the least cared for.

I saw Dave and me losing ourselves. My once cyclist hubby wrapped up in work, bogged down by envelopes too full of numbers, hours ticking by on a clock that seemed too fast, was lacking energy and drive. He wasn’t the same Dave- not in a growing and changing way, but in a missing part kind of way. And all of this was just our daily. Each day slipping, unfulfilled.

I’ve worked as a life coach, an organization specialist, and event planning consultant. I’ve hosted group runs, volunteered at races, and taught fitness classes for kids. All of these things lined me up, naturally, to help other people, the same way I was helped, to get myself back.

Because being a Beachbody coach is more than telling someone to drink a shake and do a workout. It is making friends and sharing with them the best nutrition in Shakeology and finding the absolute best programs to achieve dreams, and I get to be a part of that.

 

 

Don’t wish for it. Work for it. ~@autumncalabrese

A photo posted by Chelley M. (@martinkadeluxe) on Aug 13, 2016 at 10:53pm PDT

Now can you see why this excites me so much?!

The Beachbody business is health

My Beachbody business gives me more than just fitness and nutrition, it has enabled me to hire people to be a part of my team, giving them the tools they need achieve their success- whatever that means for them. Becoming a coach is about helping others reach further and crush goals… those could be health, nutrition, wellness, weight loss, working on committing to something, financial freedom, building community… the possibilities are endless, and Beachbody, I truly believe, has a way to reach many of them!

 

Breakfast today… on point. #recipe: Split half a packet of oatmeal with your kids. Just kidding. Make 2 packets of oatmeal and pray you get about 1/4 of it. Wrestle it into your own bowl and hide it. Take one scoop of chocolate #shakeo and mix in just enough almond milk to give it a thick, almost frosting like, consistency. Scoop on top of your oatmeal. Scoop on 1/4c of blueberries and sprinkle almond slivers. Sit out in the sun (still hiding your own food 😂) and enjoy. …I feel like I’m eating fruit and frosting with oatmeal for #breakfast. So decadent!!!!

A photo posted by Chelley M. (@martinkadeluxe) on Aug 20, 2016 at 7:59am PDT

It won’t work for me…

I hear you, and that’s OK. Beachbody and Shakeology work for me… it’s nutrition and a fitness community available on most social media platforms, streaming online, in accountability groups in a specific, private app, and on DVDs in your home. I needed that to reach my goals. But this isn’t for everyone… let’s be honest about that! If you’re not down, skip those posts, or leave some encouragement if you’re so inclined.

From each customer to coach, their success is my success. And when one feels truly blessed to have the opportunity to not only help transform lives inside and out, but share that opportunity with others, why wouldn’t they want to?! Why keep something a secret that’s worked so well?

When you love a recipe, have a great experience, love a vacation, buy a new car… you share. And so it goes!

But…

I heard you: some days you’re unsure about my direction, you’re feeling sick of it. Some days, I am too! I don’t always have a clear direction, but such is life. Unclear, but a heck of an adventure!

The most important part of this journey, for me, is that my family is on it with me. Dave is supportive and right along side me (already dropping some of his baby weight), the kids love to help me make shake recipes and we talk about eating well and workout together… and I feel happy. A feeling I didn’t know I was actually missing. Now I am active in my days instead of watching the hours pass by. I don’t wait for bedtime, I plan for everything we can squeeze in before. Sure, the moments in between are still messy and hard, but they aren’t impossibly stressful and filled with exhaustion.

Our family is closer, in activity, in planning and enjoying meals, and in feeling better. So yes, I will keep on posting about what is important to me, from cloth diapers to fitness. I appreciate your readership, no matter why you’re here!

Remember, if it excites you and scares the hell out of you at the same time, it probably means you should do it, so here I am!