To be honest, having battled bulimia (self-induce vomiting) for five years, and at times, having used exercise as an alternate form of purging, I never felt comfortable sharing with others my love to workout. And, speaking of honesty, while I am in love with the programs beachbody has designed, I still cringe a bit at the term “beachbody” (especially as it is sensually whispered as the beachbody logo appears on the screen prior to some of the programs. Let’s just imagine it again…the low, heavy whisper “Beachbody…”) I say so jokingly and lovingly. I remember the day before my wedding, a sweet girlfriend saying how her husband told her that she is his definition of beauty, whether nine months pregnant or otherwise. It blew me away. And it is only because of the work of Christ in my life that I can now boldly say, “I LOVE working out, and I LOVE my beachbody dvds!”.  He has set me free to enjoy them, and tell others I enjoy them. And so, I’ll tell you ;0)

It began in 2005, with Turbo Jam to P90X, onto Turbo Fire and Insanity, from Plyo to 21 Day Fix Extreme. Prior to deploying to Iraq, in 2011, my husband even videoed himself doing P90X for me, so I could still “workout with him” during his tour. Yes, I was always trying to get my husband to do a workout with me, but being a record-holding power lifter (at 198 lbs, he squatted 655, benched 455, and dead lifted 565), he was less enthusiastic to do the aerobic workouts I mostly was doing at the time. Following these beachbody programs have always been there to provide the variety and challenge that have kept me excited to workout every morning (well, almost:0) With my “checking off the list” obsession, it has always been fulfilling and rewarding to, day by day, work through the workout schedules provided with each program. And while I have loved the workouts, the five-year battle with bulimia sent the nutrition portion of my journey “down the toilet”. One year prior to freedom from bulimia, I remember getting my Turbo Fire nutrition guide and for the first time realizing the connection between exercise and eating. Or, at least, it was the first time I had a heart that wanted to learn. Insanity was the first program I completed totally freed from my binge/purge cycle. But rather than following the Insanity nutrition guide (I freaked out when I read that after four weeks into the program you were told to increase your calories!) Sadly, I opted for the long hard road. Just take a look at my downloads section! It’s ridiculous. IIFYM, calorie counting, intermittent fasting, moderation #365 (which focuses on everything in moderation, and moving away from meal planning), carb cycling, carb loading, Paleo, bio-individuality, and even the “only eat when you are hungry” diet. (Some day I would love to write a review on each of them!) Would the real enemy please stand up? Who was the enemy? Fats? Carbs? Too much protein? Sugar? And how ‘bout that glycemic index chart? And while I feel like I learned something from each program, I came away still anxious and overwhelemed, especially as I considered “what worked for me”. The bio-indiviudality (where you figure out what works best for you), seemed to make the most sense, but given my history and my long list of “good food/bad food”, the figuring out part was really muddled and too much for me. On top of that, when you add the stress of 4 kiddos who have opinions and tastes of their own, plus a husband who, to support his power-lifting, eats an incredible (no joke) amount of food, I was often in the way-over-my-head, can’t-make-a-decision, overload mode, and once again, I’d find myself leaving the grocery store with a frozen pizza in hand.  While I wanted to be brave enough to move away from the “safety of your meal plan” mentality, I also made a freeing discovery. A Beachbody Challenge group showed me this.

The first time I signed up with a challenge group, our coach had us to come up with and share our meal plan for the coming week. Being required to do so not only saved money, but it saved me the extra trips to the grocery store that are no quickie for me, given the ways of four children ages seven and under. It also freed me up to think of other things as I wasn’t constantly thinking of something yet again for dinner. This was huge for me. So, while I could be free to not meal plan…I could also be free to meal plan!!! I feel like Bilbo Baggins entitling his journey, “There and Back Again.” The Challenge group provided the accountability and the space for me to be purposeful to love on my family in this way. Being apart of a Challenge Group provided me with one-on-one accountability and someone who was willing and wanted to get down in the trenches with me. It is so awesome coaching through Beachbody offers this. The greater energy I felt and the excitement of feeling better and reaching goals began to spill over to other areas of my life. For it truly is more than about the scale and inches “lost and regained”. It is about cultivating a mind set of freedom and joy; freedom to enjoy the journey, rather than believing the lie of “I’ll only be happy ‘if’ or ‘when.'” The challenge groups are for embracing your todays, learning from your yesterdays, enjoying the moment, and not being anxious about tomorrow. If I could be someone who cares, I would love to be that for you! I would love to ask the tough questions, to be your cheerleader through your victories and to encourage you when the road gets tough.  The road has never promised to be easy, but how much more enjoyable to walk it alongside a group of people with similar goals!

Contact Aubrey at aubrey@everysquareinchfitness.com, if you’d like to her to become your Beachbody coach, to be part of a challenge group, or would like more information about becoming a Beachbody coach or visit her coaching website by clicking here.