I love the bodybugg: in depth review and obsession confession

www.24hourfitness.com/training/bodybugg/

Enter discount code bbgcj24 and earn an additional $15.00 off the price of your purchase!
All lower case: bbgcj24

MY REVIEW:
Let me preface this for those of you who might be just meeting me. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always prided myself as being the “hot product” go-to girl. Thinking back to my middle school punk-rock days in Portland, Michigan (not exactly a fashion-mecca) it was ME who found a place where we (myself and my Go-Go wanna-be girlfriends) could mail-order the new wave sunglasses we saw on MTV. Mine were white cat-eyes like the ones worn by Belinda Carlisle! (I digress.)







When I bought I my first George Foreman Grill in 1995, I began all my “step aerobic” classes with what I called a “public service announcement” about the benefits and ease of this little gadget.
I still use a George Foreman Grill everyday, though I’ve gone through 2 or 3 models since that first one.

You’d think I work for Nike the way I promote, love on, and generally obsesses over all Nike footwear, Shox, AirForce Ones, Old Schools, boots.. you name it.

I’ve sold more Sleep Number beds than the store in the mall. Not only that but I love letting people know where they can find the best deal on the best bed in the world… (QVC.com) and when it’s on sale.

Surely if you've come to my house in the last 6 months, you didn’t leave before trying one of my Shakeology recipes.

I have no financial or even sponsorship arrangements with these products. I just love it when people come back to me and say…”You were right! It works and I love it!”

Now, that is not always the case. After having his first Shakeology, my father rushed to the bathroom and exclaimed that his body was “rejecteing” the shake because it was “too healthy”. He also asked me where he could find the nearest donut shop was so that he could “make things right” in his system. (He might be a lost cause…**sigh**…but he makes me laugh.)

I’ve just always been one of those people who likes to “stand on my soap box and tell everybody bout it”.

My latest love affair is with the bodybugg®. Let me start by telling you what it is…

WHAT IT IS:
Bodybugg® is a calorie management system that uses an armband sensor (worm around the upper left tricep) and an optional (additional cost associated), but way cool wireless digital display that can be worn as a watch or clipped to your belt, etc which shows you in real time the current calorie burn, your calorie burn per minute during your current workout, your calories burned since midnight, and even the calories you burned yesterday!

Unlike pedometers or heart rate monitors which don’t really tell you what you’re burning all day long, even when you sleep, the bodybugg® lifts the heavily shrouded veil from the mystery of your metabolism, the mystery of your personal and very individual calorie burn.

The armband is worn as much or as little as you like. In my first week of owning one, I only took it off to shower. I slept with it on because I wanted to know what my metabolism was doing when I was sleeping. Sooooooo interesting! It even shows a spike when you have a heart pounding nightmare! Wow!

The armband can than be synced to your computer to see a graphical display, minute by minute, hour by hour of your activity, steps, calories, etc. Again… fascinating to see! Fascinating to compare one workout to the next, to see what your metabolism is doing post-workout, while sitting at your desk and even just walking around the house! Amazing.

THE DIGITAL DISPLAY:
Now the Digital Display is not required, but for those of us who are “need to know now” kind of people, the digital display allows you to glance down and see exactly what’s happening RIGHT NOW!





HOW IT WORKS:
The bodybugg® armband uses 4 sensors, (an accelerometer, a heat flux sensor, a skin thermometer and a sweat rate sensor), which measure over 1000 body algorithms 32-times a second (don’t ask me what that means!). This is what I do understand…based on exensive questions you answer when you set your armband up including weight, height, activity level, etc., those four sensors talk to each other and very accurately determine what motion you are doing, how hard your working and how many calories you’re burning. This info is recorded in the brain of your bodybugg® sensors. Like an Ipod, you can plug it into your computer at the end of the day, or at the end of the week and see minute by minute what you’ve burned. From what I understand it will store info for up to two weeks, though I have only ever gone a few days without syncing to their website which stores and displays your data. However, if you have the digital display, you have instant gratification of knowing what you’re burning…in realtime!


Body Media, a technology company, developed the revolutionary sensor, and partnered with Apex Fitness, a nutrition company, to develop the bodybugg® system. Originally used in a medical setting, this is by far the most accurate calorie monitoring device available today, other than spending some time in a laboratory. 24-Hour Fitness purchased Apex and many have become familiar with the bodybugg® from seeing the contestants of the "The Biggest Loser" use it to achieve insane weight loss.

In fact, that’s where I first learned about the bodybugg®. Two seasons ago, I was contacted by one of the contestants who had been voted off late in the season. She had just a month left when she contacted me to see if I could help her lose those final pounds before weigh in! I offered to let her come and stay at my house and take several Turbo Kick workouts a day, weight training with the test group I was working with on ChaLEAN Extreme and basically just keep her moving all day long! Those final weeks for contestants are CRAZY…but that’s another blog!

We spent every day together for a month. It was a blast. I was totally sold on the bodybugg® that she wore and raved about and had planned to get one ASAP.

I went on line to do some research. I read a few negative reviews and decided to hold off. I forgot all about the bugg until recently a friend and fitness instructor told me how the bodybugg® had helped her lose the last 5 pounds that had been haunting her for years. I told her what I had read. That’s when we realized that in my haste I had read outdated reviews of the “old” model and all of the items which were “negatives” for me, had been fixed with this newest version (third generation)! I asked around and sure enough, everyone I could find wearing one loved the new generation! The concept was fantastic, and now the design and technology was even better! I was convinced and couldn’t wait to get mine!

I bought mine the next day after my class at 24 Hour Fitness with my employee discount (thank you very much!!)


For years I have preached the undisputable weight loss principle of calories in versus calories out. I have long encouraged…no…scrap that…I have been BEGGING people to keep track of their calories since I started helping people lose weight 18 years ago. It’s a weight loss/weight maintenance ideology that is sometimes unpopular. Why? Because it takes a bit of work. It’s an extra step, a calculation, a formula. Americans are desperate for fast and easy. We don’t want to think. Let’s face it, if there were a pill everyone could pop and go about our hedonistic ways, we would.

Many weight loss experts like to simplify the process and suggest you eat a sensible diet and become more active. The problem with that is the unknown. What is sensible when you have no idea how many calories you’re burning? Just think…if you underestimate what you’re burning by just 100 calories a day, that would equate to a 10 pound weight gain over the course of next 12 months. Do you really think you can ‘guess’ at your calories consumed versus calories out and come within 100 calories? Really??? I’m considered an expert, and even with all the knowledge, formulas and information I have engrained in my brain, not until I started wearing my bodybugg® did I realize how OFF many of my calculations were! Wow!

Some activities I had WAAAAYY over estimated what I was burning and others I had way underestimated. The good news is that my three favorite forms of exercise burn the most… Turbo, Hip Hop Hustle and ChaLEAN Extreme. Interestingly with CE the burn isn’t necessarily super high during the class, but it lasts for hours after my workout! Cool!

Now that myself and 5 of my friends have bodybugg’s and have been comparing our calorie burn and though within just a few inches and pounds of each other (we’re all under 5’5”) and all doing the same workouts on the same days, at the same time, we are all burning drastically different calories, by as much as 800 to 1,000 calories!

It makes me realize that when someone asks me how many calories they should consume to lose weight, which people ask me ALL the time, that I REALLY can’t answer that question with any kind of accuracy. I can certainly make an educated guess, and that’s about as much as I can do!

bodybugg®'s armband calorie/mataboism monitoring device this is actually accurate! That's huge! Since I’ve started preaching about it’s many benefits, I’ve had many “heart rate monitor” owners ask me how it compares. No comparison. Its like the difference between meeting with a personal trainer one hour a day and having one with you 24 hours a day. World of difference!

To lose weight or gain weight it really comes down to calories/energy in and calories/energy out. Create too much of a deficit for prolonged periods and the result is a metabolism that slows. There are sooo many factors that determine the number of calories you burn in one day, genetics, muscle composition, height, weight, age, dieting history, exercise intensity, type of exercise, hormones… you name it! This device takes the guess-work out!

Create a deficit of 500 calories per day, report your calories on the web based food log accurately and when compared to your bodybugg data (which is proven to be 90% accurate or better) the result is a weight loss of 1 pound per week. Period. Done. End of story.

I tested it myself. I strapped my on my arm. Filled out my on-line questionnaire, religiously recorded every calorie and monitored my calories burned with the data collected on my device. I set a goal to lose 3 pounds in three week. (I’m short! Three pounds makes a difference in my line of work ;) I applied the weight loss formula to lose a pound a week, i.e. 500 calorie deficit per day. I created an average daily defceit of between 500 and 600 calories and BAM…a pound a week, 3.5 pounds total in three weeks and it had never been so simple! (I never had so much fun eating!)

Here’s the beautiful part….the food log! It actually breaks down the amount of carbs, proteins and fats you need each day and tells you where you’re off! That was huge for me! That’s a lot to try to calculate in your head. With the web based program it does it for you. Just by making some minor tweaks, I was able to drop my body fat at the same time!

MORE PRODUCT DETAILS:
bodybugg® armband is necessary. The digital display is highly recommended, but not necessary to operate the system. The current bodybugg®' is the third generation device. It is 50% lighter, 40% smaller and 20% thinner. The signal it sends to the digital display is apparently much stronger than original versions. Basically you just need to be with 5 to 10 feet of it to find a signal. Occasionally it loses connection, which you re-sync very simply by pressing a button on your armband.

The digital display measures minutes of activity, steps, calories burned today since 12 am, during your current workout and even shows you your previous day’s calorie burn. It also contains a new rechargeable battery. The battery re-charges like an Ipod, when you plug it into the USB port of your computer! Yay!

SUBSCRIPTION PRICING
In my opinion the invaluable information is when you’re able to see minute by minute, step by step, activity by activity, hour by hour what your body is burning. That can only be done on the bodybugg web based program. The program is MAC and PC compatible. True, the web based data does require a subscription, but the cost is nominal (less than .25 cents per day when you buy a year at once!) AND great news.. you’ll get 6 months free and a 45 minute phone coaching session with your purchase (current promotion).

Website subscription pricing:
Online subscription renewal fees are: $9.95 for month to month, $49.95 for 6 month and $79.95 for 12-month.

This is outstanding when you see what this program can do! You also receive a personal coaching session and access to Apex's customer service. I had a bazillion questions and their customer service team has been 5 Star!

Kim Slover at bodybugg tells me a mobile application of the website is in the works, so you can track your food intake on your phone.

Now, as someone who loves QVC and has been a guest on several occasions, I can tell you that the reason I love shopping with them is because they give you the “anti-sell”. In other words, they tell you what the product won’t do. In much the way I would tell my girlfriends the things I see at “negatives” about the product. I will do the same for you! I would lose my credibility as the self-proclaimed “Hot Product Go To Girl” if I wasn’t honest about the few features I wish I could change…

THE NEGATIVES:

1. The armband strap.

It’s very comfortable and you don’t even feel you’re wearing it. But at first I was like, “Oh hell no! I’m not messing up my cute outfit with this big black strap on my tricep.” Certainly nothing a few rhinestones couldn’t cure as you can see from the photo at the top of my blog. Your package will come with two sizes. Bret and I both got one, so we swapped sizes. I gave him my large and he gave me his smaller band. Yes, it’s very sporty and basic, but it doesn’t have to be! ☺ In fact, I’m working on having a couple blinged out designs mass produced and sold on our website at http://www.turbokick.com for those of us who want something a bit more fashionable! Standby!

Second, after about a week of wearing my arm band I realized the “ripe” smell was coming from my arm band. Duh! I don’t know what I was thinking, but obviously if you’re sweating, sleeping and wearing this thing as much as I was the first week, it starts to smell a little, shall we say… “funky”. Again, easy fix…hello…soak it, dry it, wear it! Of course I also bout several replacement bands so that I had several to match different outfits and I really had some fun creating different looks on each armband! Crafty fashion fun.

2. Web based food log. I have to say entering the food the first week was a pain in the butt. To do it right, you really need to know the nutritional facts of everything you consume. This takes some time and it seems their data based doesn’t identify items that should just be in their system. Again, I talked to Kim Slover about this. She acknowledged the systems short-comings and happily informed me that they are expanding the data based expedentially in the coming months for greater ease of use! Here’s my tip: During your first week, keep a small journal with you. Record calories, service size in ounces or grams, fat, protein, sodium, calcium, carbohydrates. This way you will have it all at your finger tips each day when you sit down and enter your food consumption. AND LET ME TELL YOU….accurracy is the key! When people don’t record or write down their calories, on average they UNDERESTIMATE their calories by as much as 40%!

Another tip: When entering your food log… You can go through every single meal and actually enter what you at for breakfast, then skip to am snack, then lunch, pm snack, then dinner, etc. Time consuming. Instead, record all your food on a note pad or journal. At the end of the day enter all of your food as if you ate it for breakfast. The system doesn’t care when /where you enter your calories consumed. This makes entering food much, much faster. Then the next day, around dinner, I click on breakfast from the previous day and just one line at a time click on any item I’ve consumed that day. I recommend you do this in the evening before your final meal. That way you can look at what you’ve burned, what you’ve consumed and have some idea of how many more calories you can allow yourself and still reach your health and weight goals.

3. Obsession. Admittedly I do get obsessed with new toys and gadgets. The bodybugg® has a grip on me. I find myself wanting to buy them for everyone I know. But I’ve also learned that when you “give” people valuable items, they lose their value and importance. (That another blog) But I am totally head over heals for this thing. It’s just fascinating! My wheels are turning! I really think every kid in America needs to be wearing one. I think that we could save Billions on healthcare if we made bodybugg®’s mandatory! I’m obsessed. I suspect it will be a healthy addiction once I get used to this, but at the moment (on my fourth week of wearing it) I can’t stop checking my digital display! I find myself trying to avoid, “inactive” time and admittedly there were a few days that I just pushed myself to see how high I could get my calorie burn in one day and really enjoyed all those extra calories I was able to consume (and still hit my weight loss goal)

Also, you don’t really have to wear the armband while sedentary (sleeping, showering, returning e-mails, writing blogs). Yet, every time I took it off, I sorta felt like I was disconnecting myself from a life support machine. I think I was holding my breath to take a shower. I speed-washed my hair, lightening fast body scrub, dried off like the house was on fire, strapped that thing back on and gasped for breath! Geeesh! Calm down already! I’m laughing thinking back on it now. Funny.


Current promotion through June 30th is about a $100 savings!
$249 with armband and digital display!

www.24hourfitness.com/training/bodybugg/

Enter my discount code and earn an additional $15.00 off the price of your purchase! All lower case: bbgcj24

Finally, if you have a third generation bodybugg, please share your thoughts and reviews here !

Does Weight loss Cause Marital Problems?

Three times in one week? Seriously? And again this morning a student pulled me aside to privately share with me that she and her husband were going through a "rocky period" and in the midst of a temporary separation. Sadly, I’m confident this person’s identity is protected despite this blog mention. Why? Because regrettably I have had the same conversation with three students in my fitness classes in this last week.

The truth is I've been delicately denying this sometimes seemingly related side effect of fitness.

It’s not an immediate side effect, but rather one that seems to develop as the newly fit person’s confidence improves and their priorities shift. It's far deeper than fitness, but with regret I must admit that it's not the first time I've felt like I could have done more to help! Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not a martyr who thinks they can save every broken bird. I’m not a therapist nor do I think that I have the training to interfere in a troubled marriage. I am however a resource for people embarking on a journey of a better life. Knowledge is power.

This is a call to action! This is a challenge to all fitness professionals and a warning to those of you who seek to begin your fitness journey and desire, in the process, to grow closer to your dearest friends, family and partner in the process.

Distance, resentment, jealously and fear; these are just a few of the emotions felt by someone whose friend or a partner experiences a rather dramatic change in lifestyle, personality or physical appearance. The side effects are rarely immediate, but seems to appear after a newfound confidence emerges.

As a Lifestyle and Fitness Coach my goal has always been to help people live better, fuller, richer, more propose filled lives. People might come to me to help them lose weight or tighten their tummies, but my first priority has always been to help them change their lifestyle for the better. I teach people to live balanced, healthy, happy lives, not obsessed with “perfect eating” or a certain number on the scale but rather to strike a balance in all areas. To do that I have to earn a level of trust and respect with people. I can’t inspire someone in just one video or in one class, but if they like my workout, they might like me. If they like me then maybe they’ll read my writings, follow my blog, listen to my motivation cd’s, sit in the audience with an open heart in one of my presentations and begin to understand that genuinely want to see people be happier.



I have always sought to help people enjoy better relationships and fuller, richer lives. Through my programs like Turbo Jam, Turbo Kick, or ChaLEAN Extreme, I have been invited into many people’s homes. Day after day they watch my videos and begin to feel they know me. Subconsciously they invite me to be a part of their lives. It’s an honor I take seriously. I work to include as many life improving tips in everything that I do, and not just fitness or nutrition, but things that help you become more aware of others. Because really…what’s the point of being fit, if you’re not happy?

The benefits of living a healthy, happy life are abundant. Yet in today's conversation with another newly separated and recently fit friend has brought me to the realization that as fitness professionals and coaches we must recognize the obligation to help people live happier lives. We must educate those we help as to the potential pitfalls of health and fitness. There are a few negatives…

1. You may have to buy a whole new wardrobe

2. You may have to extend your life insurance policy (as you’re certainly going to live longer)

3. You may find yourself not wanting to hang around people who have sedentary, unhealthy, depressing lifestyles.

4. “Haters” may be jealous of your newly toned booty!

5. Finally, as your waistline, interests, habits and lifestyle shifts, so too do your relationships with others.


The last thing in the world I want for people is to have fitness to drive a wedge between partners. Improving your marriage, strengthening your important relationships is even more important to me than improving your bicep strength. However, when it comes to friends, there are those who want the best for you and those who want a “buddy” who will make them feel comfortable about their own unhealthy decisions. Let go of that loser! Remain friendly, but to invest in yourself, you can no longer make with draws for these types of individuals. They may mean well, but they are not holding you to a higher standard. “Good friends” will make you think twice when you’re headed in the “wrong” direction.



When people lose weight and change their lifestyles, relationships change.

I've been helping people get fit and lose weight for 19 years and counting. Let's state the obvious. Someone who has let themselves go, who has considerable weight to lose, has low energy, low self esteem and has been dealing with the social and personal stigma associated with being over weight has often come to expect that people should treat them as "less than worthy" of respect, care, love and kindness. More often than not, when I meet someone who is beginning their fitness journey, they have allowed themselves to slip into “last place” on the list of importance. They have taught others how to treat them. They have taken care of everyone and everything else and practice a great deal of self-loathing.

Whether it’s over eating or under eating the root feeling about yourself is often the same. When people don’t like themselves they don’t expect much from others. They way you feel about yourself effects the dynamic in every relationship you’re in.

Fitness and weight are far deeper than just finding a great exercise program or eating less. I don't speak as an expert or therapist, but I do speak from 19 years of personal experience as a fitness coach and 14 years of marriage - that's 18 years with the same partner (my darling husband Bret) and a great note taker of all strong relationships around me.

Here's the challenge:

When someone begins to feel and look better, they start to think more highly of themselves. For the first time they look in the mirror and think, "I'm looking good. I'm feeling good and I CAN do this." They begin to recognize their own self-worth. They may be the same person they've always been, but suddenly they begin to believe, perhaps for the first time in a long time, that they deserve better.

Before long they may choose to resent those people in their lives (friends, family members, partners, even co-workers) who they have allowed for so many years to treat them "a certain way". Notice that I said, “they may choose to resent”. How you feel about others is a choice. Your mindset, your attitude in this process is critical. Allow your self to start spiraling negative thoughts about someone in your life and before long they become the villain. You can’t remember what you ever saw in them. Your anger builds. You begin to notice everything that drives you crazy. You take everything personally. You can only see and remember the worst.

In the mind of the person experiencing this physical and emotional transformation, the rules begin to change. The other person, even if they are supportive of the healthy changes doesn’t understand why the rules are changing and for that matter where to find the rulebook! This person begins to feel threatened by this unavoidable change or shift in the relationship. Friends may feel that their now "thinner, more fit" friend suddenly thinks less of them. They may feel judged or bad about themselves for not making the same changes and will find ways to sabotage their results or belittle their success.

A partner may suddenly no longer feels like they are the center of that person’s Universe. The newly fit and happy partner begins to get their happiness from within instead of from food or exclusively catering to the needs of others. The resentment and distance continues to build. No one is willing to talk about what’s going on. Everyone is too proud. Each waits for the other to make a step closer and in doing so they walk further and further apart.

Before long you’re doing everything as married individuals and little as a couple. You have your activities, and he or she has theirs; different friends, different schedules, different interest. The bond weakens. The resentment grows. It’s no ones fault, but someone could have done something. Someone should have done something before it was too late.

You often hear, “it takes two”, but I think a more useful comment is, “it takes one.” In every relationship one partner is more emotionally mature than the other. It takes one partner willing to do more than their share. If that has to be you, get over it! Do it. It doesn’t mean one partner is better, it means they are more in tune with what is going in and willing to swallow their pride, swallow their hurt and make it work. It takes one person taking the bull by the horns and steering the ship. It takes one person being the bigger person, and the next time you might be surprised when your partner steps up to the plate. It takes one person to schedule some time with a highly recommended therapist. If your first therapist doesn’t help you, they’re only human. It wasn’t a good fit. Find another!

Put yourself in the shoes of the partner or friend who feels left behind! Imagine going from being number one to number three without warning! No matter how happy you might be for your newly fit partner, you would certainly feel a bit of frustration.

Long term lasting weight loss means adopting a new way of thinking about yourself, a change in your lifestyle. Inevitably you will form new friends, tastes, habits and patterns. As these develop it's not uncommon for the significant other to feel lonely, left behind, angry, resentful, abandoned and even jealous. Will you be the hero? Will you be so wrapped up in your own healing that you lose sight of your partner’s importance?

Keep in mind that this has little to do with fitness and everything to do with "change", a disruption in the balance of power, a shift in the mind of your partner who might now believe they are have lost their importance to you.

So what can be done to avoid people growing apart when one person experiences a change in fitness and lifestyle?


1. Say “Thank you”! Remember that the most important thing you can do to keep your marriage and relationships strong is to make the other person feel important to you. Thank him or her for any small part they have in helping or supporting your journey. Everyone longs to feel needed. Try, “It means a lot to me that you do things like caring for the kids so that I can fit a workout into my day. I couldn’t do this without you!”

2. Communicate. They key to any relationship is communication. If you’re feeling differently about yourself and ready to ask for better treatment from others, then communicate your needs, calmly, with sweetness and understanding. Remember, it’s you that’s changing the rules. Keep in mind that your partner might feel like the rug is being pulled out from under them. It’s your responsibility to communicate your needs. You can’t expect anyone to read your mind. Lose your resentment. What’s the point of getting fit, if you’re all alone!

3. Practice Empathy. Put yourself in the shoes of your partner. How would you feel if the roles were reversed? Imagine how it feels to have change you didn’t ask for thrust upon you.

4. Get on the same path. Partners walking in separate directions cannot expect to stay together for long. Avoid creating a separate life. Invite your partner to join you in your workouts. Should he or she decline, ask again. Explain how much it would mean to you to be on this journey together. Allow your partner to pick the activity.



5. No alone time with opposite sex friends. I’m going to go out on a limb here and I’m sure many of you will disagree. This is a personal rule for Bret and I and it’s based on the practices of our own parents, each of whom are both still married after 40 plus years!
No friends of the opposite sex, unless it’s a friend we both share and time spent together is spent as a couple with this person, no alone time…no matter how perfectly innocent. I don’t flirt. I don’t cavort, or lunch or workout with my friends of the opposite sex. Why would I do anything that might make my husband have to think twice? Neither of us are jealous types; I just think it’s disrespectful. The rule works well for our marriage. If you’re married, the risks waaaaaaay out weigh the benefits. Why go there? You can find plenty of friends of the same sex.

6. Inventory relationships. Take an honest look at your friendships and relationships. Do you have friends or family who really do not want to see you succeed, who wish not to see you happy? What would be the point of giving these people your time? You know right now the name of at least one person who really only pulls you down, never lifts you up and only brings you drama. Lose the friend, lose the drama! If that person is your spouse…get into therapy before things get worse!

7. Do it for the kids. I recently had a conversation with someone going through a divorce. Together they have three kids. She told me she would do anything for her children, including lay down and die for them. Yet, when I pushed her she explained that she just couldn’t bare to spend another month in counseling with her husband. If you say you would do anything for your children, then do everything you can to repair your marriage, including having an open mind to the thought of falling in love again. Your history is the past. Your mindset is everything.

Let me be clear that I think there are plenty of “bad” even dangerous relationships that people stay in way too long. I’m not one of those people who doesn’t believe in divorce. There are certainly people who if they hadn't found their confidence and began to believe in themselves would today be trapped in a toxic marriage. Sometimes divorce is the only option. Sometimes its the only way to protect your children. In fact, if there are no kids involved… I don’t have much of an opinion if someone needs to get out of their relationship. Certainly you should do that before you have kids. Kids won't fix the problem, that's for sure! I just know that people are happier, kinder, nicer, healthier when their relationships are strong, when they feel safe, protected and loved by their partner. That doesn’t happen by accident. It takes work. I also believe that those of us with young children have a far greater responsibility to the world to keep our marriages strong. As I always say the most loving thing you can do for your children is make your spouse the center of your universe. As a country, if we spent as much time and money working on our marriages as we did working on weight loss, the world would be a much better place. That’s all.

Dramatic shifts in the power and balance between people can contribute to marital strife. Certainly changing one’s lifestyle for the better or worse can bring underlying problems to the forefront. Health is a precious gift, which if approached mindfully can strengthen your important relationships.

MY SHAKEOLOGY APOLOGY

I'm a pretty humble person. I don't ask for favors, or special treatment. I don't name drop or expect that people should treat me like a VIP. I won't cut in line even when a friend waves me up. I play by the rules and know that everyone is important. I think it's rude when people act like they are entitled or that people should help them out because of their name, or who they are, or what they've done, their money, their status, whatever. One of my biggest pet peeves is my fellow fitness instructors who think they're "all that" and the "club" owes them something because their classes are full. Get over yourself! In my book, the grocery store CEO is just as important as the kid who bags your bread and milk.

Which is why today I an apologizing. Publically.

The truth is in a moment of weak desperation, I pulled a "J.Lo" on Wednesday. Well I didn't request white M&M's and all white flowers in my dressing room. Nope. Just a little help in the Shakeology department. And I know an apology with an explanation is not really an apology, but I believe my Shakeology Apology warrants a teeny tiny explanation. You see...ever since Shakeology arrived at our door step, things in my household have changed.

Now before I go further.. know this. I'm not paid to endorse Shakeology. I have no stock in the company. No one at Beachbody has ever even asked me to "try it" let alone to talk about it. I have no relationhip with Shakeology, other than we since we met, i have fallen madly in love. First I fell head over heels which peaked Bret's curiosity. Skeptical, Bret was a "believer" after two shakes. Next, my 11 year old (who refuses to eat anything green or that comes from nature), then my 9 year old, my father-in-law, my Mom, and all my exercise partners all fell under the spell of Shakeology. I admit when my bag of shakeology was full and heavy, it felt like it was last forever. I shared my bag of shakeology readily back in those early days of this month. I passed around my Shakeology like MC Hammer shared his money in those early days when record deal money was plentiful.

I'm a "pusher". When I find something that's amazing, whether it's a new push-up bra, the worlds greatest George Foreman Grill, self-tanner, whatever it is that works like a charm, I tell the world. I push it. I like things that work! I share my findings.

So, naturally I grabbed my bag of Shakeology to pack for our upcoming family vacation (8 days in Maui, Hawaii.) If felt light. Panic overcame my being. A wave of hot blood rushed into my face. I thought, "Oh my gawd! We leave in 3days. This will NEVER last and I don't have time to order more!!!" I freaked. There was only one thing to do.

I puffed my chest up and decided to see if I could pull any strings at Beachbody. I've sold 'em a couple of million videos. That should be worth a favor or two.. right?? "May I ask whose calling?" the receptionist asked. "Yes, Chalene Johnson of Turbo Jam and ChaLEAN Extreme" I announced proudly. She was unimpressed. Probably President of the Shawn T fan club. Next, I found my go-to-girl, the gal with the beautiful smile who always says, "of course! What else can I do to help", The lovely Leili in the production department. I pleaded my case. I told her how I had been to generous with my monthly supply and now I was nearly out! I begged her to ship me two bags...FedEx..priority am delivery. I didn't expect it for free or anything. I mean, come on. I'm not a mooch. "Lieli, I don't expect it for free. Just charge it to my friend Tony Horton's account (I mean come on... P90X is on tv all day everyday! He can spot me on this one... right???)

She did. It worked. Leili came through! It was mid afternoon the next day when the UPS man drove up. I sprinted to his truck, my eyes bulging, body bloated and weak. Digestion irregular and blood sugars all a skew. I was panting, shaking and foam was frothing from he corners of my mouth (I was 4 hours past my daily scheduled Shakeology). He started to dismount his truck, box in hand. "Give it to me!" I shouted as I grabbed the package from the man dressed in brown.

I apologize for my behavior. With blender whirling and smell of chocolate with a hint of wheat grass, I felt the anxious excitment that a drug addict must feel when they score another hit of heroine.

Beachbody has several protein and meal replacement shakes. I've tried and used them all. You've never seen me blog about them. I've been in the fitness profession for 20 years. I've tried every shake, vitamin and protein suppliment. You can imagine because of the huge network of intstructors and customers of my company http://www.turbokick.com, on a monthlly basis I'm sent samples of every miracle nutrient, drink, vitamin, water, protein source, and shake you can imagine. I've tried them all. You've NEVER heard me encourage people to try them. I've talked about things I find yummy or tasty with decent nutrients. But Shakeology is in a class of it's own. Period.


Unfortunately you can only get it from a coach. Some say it's expensive. I say... DO YOUR RESEARCH! It's cheap! You show me a meal with this many veggies, protein, enzymes, fruit blends, probiotics and vitamins that is this low in calorie and I'll show you something much more expensive or that doesn't have as much ! it can't be done. It's less than a cup of Starbucks. Get a clue! It's cheap. Sure it's more than what you've been paying for your normal meal replacement, but this is a total health drink. It's super cheap if you become a coach. Don't quote me here, but you get it about $30 cheaper if your'e coach with http://www.TeamBeachbody.com Now I am ineligible to be coach (because I'm a trainer with BeachBody) so I've been ordering it from my coach as customer. (Well, except for in this recent tantrum!)


BeachBody has just come out with Shakeology and it is truly amazing. Not only does it have all the great stuff I just mentioned but it tastes really really good (I have some GREAT recipes to really make it taste like a dream! Don't just mix it with water and shake it. Boring! Visit my blog later this week for my fav recipes!

It really does take great! You don't have to just take my word for it, take the word of a "very picky eater!!!", my son 12 year old son Brock. Now let me tell you about my sweet son Brock, he HATES vegetables. I understand. I hated veggies til I was an adult. For years my Mom tried and for years, I found creative ways to dispose of the green stuff on my plate without her knowing. The other day Brock and I had a very touching moment. I made him is afternoon protein shake. He gulped it down, commenting, "That was good, but it tasted different today. Did you put something different in it?" I sat down next to him and broke the news to him. "Son, you just had your daily serving of veggies!" For the first time in his 12 year life, a complete days serving of fruits and vegetables and he liked it! Now granted... I needed his shake to taste a lot like what he's used to, so I added the same stuff I always put in his protein shakes, a lil peanut butter and some fat free frozen yogurt. But it was the most nutritious meal he had probably had in his life. I felt a tear roll down my face. ( oh come on! Not really, but it makes the story). Seriously as a mom it gives such peace of mind knowing I can whip up a yummy shake hand it to my child and know he is getting so many great things his growing body needs.

Learn more... http://www.milliondollarbody.com/shakeology/

More details

WHATS IN IT

More than 70 different ingredients were chosen from around the world for their potency and bioavailability (the ability to deliver the nutrients your body needs). Here are the key nutrient groups that these ingredients deliver:*

Protein and Essential Amino Acids to help build long, lean muscles and reduce food cravings

Prebiotics and Digestive Enzymes, which aid in improving digestion, regularity, and nutrient absorption

Antioxidants and Phytonutrients to help counteract free radical damage that can lead to degenerative diseases

Vitamins and Minerals your body needs to function for optimal health.

ChaLEAN Extreme Results equal Weight Loss, Fat loss and Metabolism Boost

A picture says a thousand words...

I worked with all of the people in these photos for 90 days. They live in my area, have kids on my kid's sports teams, one is my assistant, some are neighbors, they are people just like you and me...busy and not sure how they woke up and found themselves "overweight" one day.

Some of them weren't even really overweight, just had belly fat and body fat to lose.

These are 100 % untouched. The real deal. Baby scars included. Aren't they beautiful?? And guess what... they STILL look like this! Why? They still do ChaLEAN Extreme. How do I know...I already told you... I see 'em all the time.

Enjoy... then take action. Can you imagine being lean with abs 90 days from now?

Some people know me as a women's fitness clothing and apparel designer with Turbo Wear, or the owner of Powder Blue Productions. But most people know me as the creator of Turbo Kick, a kickboxing and cardio dance infusion program that I designed for some of the world's largest health clubs over 12 years ago (and still kickin'!) The instructors who certified through Turbo Kick made that workout so popular that those classes lead to the demand for more! In 2005 we brought Turbo Kick to the consumer in the form of Turbo Jam! You may have seen the infomercial :)

I started out as a personal trainer though! My goal was to help people lose weight, feel great and most importantly strike a balance in their life. So, though I'm most well known for my cardio programs, I've long been someone who believed in the benefits of strength training. But see... I hit my late 30's and things seemed to be slowing down. It was driving me crazy. I felt like my own metabolism just wasn't where it should be. I started doing some research. I looked at science. I read the clinical studies and every report I could get my hand. I ignored what was being toted in popular grocery story health and fitness magazines and wanted to see the science. What came out of that is a program Beachbody has named ChaLEAN Extreme.

It works. These are just some of the photos of the 70 test participants who became the undeniable proof that muscle does burn fat.

I have so much to tell you, but I can't do it all in one post. If I sit at my computer much longer my kids are going to disown me. Soooo..... having said that. I'll be back and fill you in on the ins-and outs of this amazing new way to build muscle and change your metabolism called ChaLEAN Extreme

Want it? Go to www.chaleanextreme.com

Want to see the cutest fitness apparel on the planet? The kind that will have you excited about your next workout?

go to http://www.turbokick.com

Want to become a fitness instructor and get paid to change lives? Same place...

More later :)

(oh and luckily all of these people got ripped or they would kill me for making them take these before photos. Don't put it off... you'll wish you had them 90 days from now. And be sure to wear the same clothes in your after as you do in your before. I think that looks cool!)

I'm Dieting but I Can't Lose Weight Fast

Carey is a classic example of a life long dieter and cardio junky who despite a great work ethic, needed a new plan! 

Carey told me before she started ChaLEAN Extreme that her whole life had been spent dieting and a slave to her cardio. She said people always looked surprised when she told them how much she was working out. 

Millions of people, and especially women suffer from the consequences of years of trying to restrict calories. 

It's perhaps the reason I'm most excited to have people follow this plan (Oprah... are you listening???) 

Perhaps the most common complaint I hear from women is "I'm cutting my calories, but I can't live like this and I'm not losing weight like I used to!" 

For years people have been told it's simple a numbers game. Burn more than you consume and you'll lose weight. We also often hear this magic number of "1200" calories. But these two notions, though fairly accurate, only tell part of the picture and this picture is drastically different if you are a life time dieter! 

Though true, what's flawed in these simple statements (which I too have used to oversimplify a complex machine) is that the body can and does quickly adapt to a diet of excessive deprivation (well below your caloric requirements) and will slow your Basal Metabolic Reate (BMR).  In essence, when you dip below your BMR in calories consumed for an extended period of time, you trigger your body to activate "starvation mode". The body, being a well equipped machine finds a way of burning fewer calories than are available. Smart, huh? Frustrating yes! Have you ever watched one of those programs on National Geo TV and wondered how individuals are able to survive on one cup of rice per day, yet do physically demanding work from sun up to sun down and not look like death? I suspect that their metabolisms have simply adjusted. (I'd love to see some research on that subject) 

In 2008 I was able to do some research of my own. I worked with 70 test group participants who sought to lose body fat and achieve weight loss. The test was part of my research for ChaLEAN Extreme. In that testing we measured the BMR of each participant, as well as hydrostatic body fat testing of their body composition. Of course all tests were supervised by a physician and we used the gold standard in all areas of testing. 

One woman in particular had me worried from the start. She hadn't exercised in over 20 years and told me she had be starving herself and making terrible food choices for years resulting in more and more weight gain. For her stature she was at least 60 pounds overweight. A part of me doubted her when she told me she was "barely eating a thing." I thought.."Yeah right!" That is until I saw the data from her BMR testing. Her BMR was 700 calories a day! What?? No wonder she was putting on weight no matter what she did. We'll call her "Cherrie" to protect her privacy. 

I thought it was most ironic to see those who were the largest in the test group also had the slowest metabolism. I had to wonder..."what came first? The slow metabolism or the weight." I know know the answer! 

So on day 1, Cherrie was burning only 700 calories a day, starvation by most standards. Her body fat was over 35%! She admittedly hated exercise and explained that most days she tried to avoid eating anything until dinner. She explained she had a habit of picking and snacking to get her through, but always felt hungry and deprived. At dinner she would often over eat, but still tried to restrict her calories. She said she woke up every day feeling exhausted, run down, defeated and depressed. She looked 10 years older than her true age. Despite her attempts to cut calories, her body had learned to accommodate by burning fewer and fewer, making weight gain a certain probability. 

Ironically, in our youth, when we have a considerable amount of muscle, our bodies are new an unfamiliar with the rapid weight loss game. Weight loss and weight maintenance are easy! The cycle begins when people try to "diet" their weight off, as opposed to proper nutrition and changing their body composition (i.e. add exercise and muscle).  One of the most frustrated groups of individuals are those over 30, 40 and 50 who see that year after year weight loss becomes more difficult. It's not the age...its the body composition that makes dieting difficult. 

In doing my research for ChaLEAN Extreme I looked at as many published reports on muscle, body fat, low carb diets, prolonged use of calorie restrictive diets, low cal diets, and the role body composition plays on weight loss and weight gain. What I really wanted to understand is why if consuming fewer calories is supposed to help people lose weight, some people actually begin to see a weight gain after a period of time and some actually find themselves obese! 

There's loads of research on the subject if one is willing to look beyond the glossy magazines which print misnomers and half-truths. Perhaps the most convincing of the clinicals studies I read was that reported a marked drop in the metabolism of "restrictive calorie dieters (even in obese women). "The decrease in TSH and free T3 actually blunt energy expenditure in response to long term calorie restriction, thereby frustrating weight loss attempts of obese individuals." 

So even though at face value it should seem that if you are consuming less than you are burning, you should be losing weight, the bottom line is this.... If your not providing enough fuel to your body to nearly support your BMR, your BMR will slow accordingly. 

So... how do we increase our BMR??? 

Listen up long term dieters... YOU MUST EAT ENOUGH CALORIES TO SUPPORT YOUR BMR! And it's time to get over it... YOU HAVE TO EXERCISE IF YOU ARE GOING TO CHANGE YOUR BODY COMPOSITION. 

It's the only hope you have. Its the truth! And guess what... its really not that bad. Every night I have a battle with my 8 year old daughter to take a shower. "I don't want to! I'm not dirty! I took one last night. I hate getting into the water. I'm cold. I'm tired. I have homework. I'll do it tomorrow."    She dreads the thought. But ya know what... when she gets out of the shower, every single night, without fail she always says she feels better. 

Get over it people! You are going to have to lift weights! Just 3x a week! And guess what... You're going to feel better! A lot better! 

So back to "Cherrie"...What happened after 90 days of eating every 2.5 hours and lifting 3x a week? What happened after we started giving her body the fuel it needed and changing her composition.  Well, at first, Cherrie hated it. I would say she hated me for the first two weeks. She even gained a few pounds those first few weeks, but she trusted me and stuck with it! After the 2nd week it was obvious she was losing weight. But weight loss alone wasn't my goal for her. I wanted to change her BMR! 

At the end of 3 months we went back to the doctor and tested her again. She had lost over 40 pounds and not one ounce of that was muscle. In fact, in the process of losing fat, she actually gained muscle! We reduced her body fat by over 50%! Huge! We increased her BMR to nearly 1400! That's amazing! Even the doctors were astonished. Most rewarding for me was the day she reported she was now off her  blood pressure medication, the depression had lifted and her boys had their old mom back! 

I promised "Cherrie" I would put her picture up here, but she's just one example of a person who was able to reverse the slowing process of the BMR.  Every single person in our group increased their BMR substantially. The average body fat loss was nearly 40% , with many participants like Leslie (below) losing more than 50% of their body fat. 

 

Is it possible to reverse what you thought was a metabolism 

slowing due to your age? 

Yes! 

If you do not have the means to have your BMR tested, the key is finding the balance between where you no longer lose weight, but aren't gaining weight.  Keep in mind that the average woman will fluctuate up and down between 1 to 3 pounds from week to week. Pick a range, not a number!  

When working to increase your metabolism (which is ultimately the goal if you want to eat more and come in a smaller package) remember that muscle is an active tissue. It's requirements are far greater than fat. Fat is this mushy, lumpy, yellowy stuff that requires very little to sustain itself, but takes up a lot of space. Lean muscle tissue on the other hand requires are great deal of calories to sustain. It's firm! It's tight! It's red with blood and healthy tissue that makes life easier and fat burning a breeze! Muscle burns fat!   To do this means taking the time to "get it right" and as unpopular as it may be, to know the amount of calories you're consuming per day, at least in this "getting it right" stage. 

If you're interested in my new program, please buy it from a coach! You can find them by searching "Team Beachbody Coach", by going to http://www.chaleanextreme.com  or from my sister http://www.turbosister.com 

Oh... and don't forget to subscribe to my blog :) 

Chalene