A new me in 2014, new YOU in 2015

With New Years approaching and the busy holiday season and festivities coming to an end, I KNOW this time of year has many people thinking about their health and fitness and weight loss goals. I KNOW, because I've been there... every year, for so many years since having children and carrying around some extra pounds.

That was me just last New Years, OVER a year since having our third child, still overweight and still sporting a belly bump. It was quite humiliating and depressing when someone had asked if I was pregnant again (and I was not!). In Spring of 2013, I had started tackling my post-baby weight by doing Insanity (in my bedroom with the door shut because I was embarrassed to be watched in the living room at the time). I was also battling many symptoms associated with a thyroid disease, which only made weight loss harder for me. It was then that I discovered Shakeology, a nutrition shake, and started drinking it to help with immune support for my thyroid and to help with the weight loss. I was determined to get the weight off so I could fit back in to some of my clothes and look and feel better for a big family vacation we had planned for the summer. I managed to lose 13 pounds in just over 2 months and did squeeze back in to some of my old jeans finally.

After that, old eating habits returned and I stopped drinking Shakeology and stopped working out. You can imagine what happened. By the end of the year, there I was, right back where I started before Insanity and still trying to overcome thyroid issues. I was unhappy, out of shape, overweight, constantly run down and fatigued, fighting anxiety and irritibility and feeling hopeless about it all. I hated feeling that way!

So once again, I started the new year with a weight loss goal. My weapon of choice - Focus T25 and I started drinking Shakeology again. Shortly after getting started, I came across a post on Facebook for an online support group for people doing the Beachbody Challenge. I was already skipping workouts and still having a hard time with my eating. So I thought, why not, maybe that is what I need. Maybe if I have other people to share my struggles with and check in with, then maybe I will stick to it. Maybe I would quit giving up in the middle of the week and waiting for the next Monday to start over again. How many of you have done that?!

So that was me in the picture on the left, before realizing how LIFE CHANGING in-home workouts, eating properly, implementing a SUPER FOOD nutrional shake, and having ACCOUNTABILITY would all be for me. That was me before realizing what I am capable of, before finding my STRENGTH and BELIEVING in myself. That first accountability group I joined this year was a LIFESAVER to me and I am so thankful that I was a part of it. By the time I finished in that group and completed T25, I had lost 19 pounds and gained so much energy, vitality, confidence and self respect. I have since lost another 20 pounds this year with more Beachbody programs - Brazil Butt Lift, PiYo, and a few rounds of 21 Day Fix.

Focus T25 Results: Lost 19 Pounds (mid January - first week of April)

Health and fitness needs have to come from making lifestyle changes, not temporary fixes! You want to lose weight? You HAVE to get your nutrition in check. You want to be healthy? Then you need to eat clean and not put chemicals in your body. You've heard it before... There are no magic pills! You want to be fit? You HAVE to workout. It's as SIMPLE as that! Getting started and staying motivated is not always simple, but that's where my help comes in. I can help you choose a fitness programs that is in par with YOUR fitness level and that suits YOU and provide you a simple healthy meal plan to follow. Just like my coach did for me, I can provide all the tools and ENCOURAGE you and MOTIVATE you along the way, but you have to be willing to use the tools and do the WORK.

My results are not ridiculously remarkable greatest loser style results and I have certainly not been perfect. But they are true and honest HEALTHY results and I am proud of the lifestyle changes that I have made to be a healthier and stronger ME.

I am passionate about helping others that have been stuck in a rut like I once was, others that feel worn out and run down and don't think they have time for themselves. You DO have time. You just have to choose to MAKE time for yourself. You may be skeptical and worried about making the investment in yet another health and fitness program. Believe me, I get it... I was too! But I can GUARANTEE you, if you take the leap of faith and believe in yourself and truly commit; if you INVEST in yourself, you will NOT FAIL! Seriously, it really is guaranteeed... because Beachbody is cool like that.

If ANY of this is hitting home for you, sparking an interest in how I can help you, and/or lighting a fire under your you-know-what to finally COMMIT to the changes you want, PLEASE reach out to me! My next online support group will be starting soon and if you are still reading this, you NEED to be a part of it! Isn't it about time you stop putting yourself off?

To a Healthy and Happy New Year!!

-Sandy

Contact me:

• Here on my Blog
• My Facebook Fan Page, Fit and Sticky
• My Facebook Profile, Sandy Shelby

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Big Hairy Scary Goals can be reached

Wow!! Just wow!! I was just scrolling through some old conversations on Facebook looking for some information I need. I happened to come across this message that I had sent to my Beachbody Coach (and now one of my business partners) dated on January 16th of this year.

"So you have an idea of where I am at, and what my goals are... I did a round of Insanity last spring and lost 13 pounds (at 6 months postpartum). I since gained a little, and then lost a little. So now to finish what I started and get about 20 more off. I was diagnosed with Hashi's last year (an autoimmunue / thyroid disorder), which is common to complicate weight loss.  I refuse to let that be an excuse though."

I was determined and eager to get some weight off and get in shape and start feeling better, despite a thyroid illness. I was hopeful that joining her challenge group would help give me the support and motivation that I needed to reach my goals. Boy did it!! I was looking to lose "about 20 pounds" to get back to the weight I was at before my third pregnancy. Over the course of this year, I completely squashed that goal... losing 19 pounds in the first challenge group I participated in at the beginning of the year, plus another 20 pounds after that when I began coaching and helping others with their fitness goals.

Looking back, I completely underestimated just what I was capable of! Amazing things happen if you try hard enough and push past your limits.

I'm going to call Dawn out for a minute too. She is a long time friend of mine that I met 16 years ago. She is also one of my fitness buddies (and now also a coach on my team) that has been along beside me in my challenge groups since June. She came to me wanting to get started with her health and fitness goals and have support and accountability along the way. She found my progress and results from doing T25 to be motivating and inspiring to her, but let me tell you, SHE is someone that has been so motivating and inspiring to me.

She is often humble about her progress, but she has been busting her butt since the middle of this year to reach a goal that she shared with me when she started. It was her 40th birthday and she wanted to feel better, inside and out, and knew she needed to get active and make some changes. She gave a number that she would like to lose before her next birthday, which easily could have been a big hairy scary goal! But ya know what... she started strong, gave it her all, did what she needed to do, and by Halloween this year she was down 48.4 lbs and 28.5 inches since June 13th. Frickin' AMAZING!! Not sure what the numbers are currently since she likes to keep me in suspense. ;)

My dear friend Dawn, I have NO DOUBT that you are capable of reaching that goal, and that you WILL reach that goal, that you set out for yourself in June. ALL OF YOU are capable of reaching your goals and doing anything that you believe in, that you work hard at, and put your heart into. BELIEVE in yourself and never give up!! ♥

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Turn Your Want to Haves into Have to Haves

One thing I have come realize in life and especially in the last year while tackling my fitness goals, is that sometimes we need to make our wants a necessity. We need to turn our desires into something we need if it truly is important to us.

There's a great difference in being committed to doing something and not just being interested. If you really want to be successful in reaching your fitness goals, you have to make your health, nutrition, and fitness part of who you are, something you do regularly. It's just like showering and showing up for your job. It's just something you do and you show up and make it part of your routine. It can't be a hobby that you just do sometimes when you feel like it or have spare time. That's the difference in making lifestyle changes that are long-lasting and fad dieting. And we all know where fad dieting gets us, right?!

But here's the thing, in order to GET motivated and committed, you've got to have your mind channeled in the right direction. You can't just "WANT TO" lose some weight, have a more flattering body, and feel better and healthier. You need to have a strong reason that you "HAVE TO" do it.

Think about this: What happens to our wants, our interests, and our hobbies when life gets busy or hectic and other things get in the way? Ours interests and things that we don't put a lot of value in get pushed aside and put on the back burner. We prioritize and make time for the things that are more important to us and the things that we have to do. Many people fail at reaching their health and fitness goals because they simply did not make it a priority.

Here's a perfect insert from the great Darren Hardy, motivational speaker and publisher of SUCCESS magazine.

You only achieve your HAVE TO HAVE.
You WANT to make more money? Forget it.
You WANT to lose weight? Won’t happen.
You WANT to have a better marriage? Nah, you're kidding yourself.

Now…
You HAVE to earn $2,000 more a month to keep your house?
You’ll figure it out.
You HAVE to lose 20 pounds to get out of heart attack danger?
You’ll (finally) do what it takes.
You HAVE to make your marriage better, or else?
Hey, now you might do the work to make it happen.

See the difference?
So does your brain.
You’ll be surprised at how powerful, disciplined, focused and unrelenting you will become when you turn your want to haves into have to haves.

So ask yourself — What is your WHY? Just wanting something isn't always enough to motivate you and drive you to do what it takes to achieve it. You need to have a great concrete reason for WHY you want it, why you HAVE to HAVE it. Do you WANT to lose 20 pounds, or do you HAVE to lose 20 pounds? Having a reason for why you are working so hard, why you HAVE TO work so hard, can make all the difference on those days that you just don’t want to get out of bed and/or you just want to plop down on the couch after work, and those days that you find yourself having no control with bad eating habits. So dig deep and find your reason! Also, make sure your goals are realistic and achievable so you can really enjoy the fruit of your labor.

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