Why I Became A Health Coach

My Story

At home workout vs. the gym

I wanted to do a post on WHY I became a Beachbody Coach and how my life has changed since I made the decision. I'm getting a bunch of questions from a lot of you so this blog post just makes sense.

First off, to be 100 percent honest, before I became a coach I had never done a Beachbody workout. I wasn't even sure who Beachbody was. However, I knew several friends had great success with P90X, Insanity and T25. They would talk about the programs like they were the best thing ever. I didn’t even realize Beachbody and the workouts were related.

I mean, I was a gym rat. I didn't need to hear anything more than what was going on at the gym. I loved going, I loved the steam room and I loved playing volleyball. That was who I was and what I needed. But I would do the SAME workout over and over. My body didn't want to change. Only until I met a trainer did I start to see a transformation, but that started to get a little expensive. 

What I didn't realize was my life was about to change in a big way and the gym would soon be a place I rarely saw. I became a mom. Actually, everything seemed to change for me. But more on that later!

I have ALWAYS loved health and fitness. Not all coaches have a background in the health industry. Usually the coaches who are still on their weightloss journey are some of the MOST successful coaches! Personally, I believe that once you become a coach, you realize how important your health is and what a profound effect it has over EVERYTHING. Without your health…what is there?

But back to my journey... I think at one time I had MAYBE 8 health magazine subscriptions and would get super excited to get them in the mail (of course this was before kids and I could actually sit down and read!). This is how I grabbed the attention of Meg – one of the top Beachbody coaches in the country. She saw that Shape Magazine had printed one of my FB posts in their pages and reached out to me. This was about 3 years ago. We chatted about heart rate monitors and some other fitness related stuff. That was it. A nice cozy relationship was formed.

I started to follow Meg’s journey. I started to get really inspired by her. I loved that she put herself out there. To me, when someone opens up, I like them. Why? Cuz I know it takes a lot of courage to do that. But, not going to lie, I was still skeptical. Why? Because I think that’s my natural reaction. I automatically thought, pyramid scheme, salesy. No thanks. Even though Meg never once pushed me to do anything, nor did she ever come across that way. BUT I had been approached by a few people in the past who were pushy and salesy and was totally turned off.

Everything about this was different.

Life got busy. Always. So I continued to post my healthy stuff and my fitness journey and blog about recipes and life. And I kept thinking…boy…Meg sure posts a lot of the same type of stuff I do. But yet she’s changing people's lives and she's getting paid for it. 

Then we had our first son, Jackson. Let me tell you…when you become a parent, you hop on the most insane emotional roller-coaster of your life. I was NOT prepared. I thought I was. No way. I have never in my life been so exhausted. I was literally crawling on the floor sometimes because I was that tired and I was that way for 14 months. I was constantly anxious and worrying about everything I could not control…the amount of milk I was or wasn't producing to germs to the color of poop. I was a wreck. And that affected everything and everyone around me.  

I was resentful toward my husband. I feel bad now. Poor guy. I’m not even sure why, other than he worked a ton. His schedule was unpredictable. He was studying for his boards. He was on call. He was gone a lot of weekends and there I was trying to figure out motherhood. I kept thinking, "what about me"? Don’t I get to be taken care of somewhere in here? I felt like I had the bulk of work on my shoulders. 

As much as I loved my son and being a mom, I also knew I did NOT feel like myself. I was STRESSED OUT. I was barely able to find time to go to the gym because I didn’t know when I could get away. And not to mention all the friends and family who were harassing me because I disappeared and could never find time to get on the phone or meet up. I honestly wanted to enjoy my son and get some great sleep and hit the gym! But when I finally did get to the gym, I’d feel guilty leaving my son. 

See. I was a mess.

BUT, I was very focused on my nutrition because I wanted to make sure Jackson was getting the proper nutrients from the get go. That was important to me. I was able to lose the 40 pounds I gained in a year’s time, but inside I was ready to explode.  I was in a constant battle with myself. Part of me wanted to hang on to my old life (when I knew there was NO way. I mean, even thinking about going out to have a drink meant I would lose more sleep. No.) and then there was part of me who wanted to let go of it all and just jump into this new life (but I had no idea how. I didn’t know what I was doing, where I was going...I thought any chance of dreaming was gone). So I kind of lost myself.

But I will say things started to change a little when Jackson started sleeping through the night. I started to make peace with myself, I had stopped nursing around 14 months and had a little extra time on my hands. I was trying to sneak away during my lunch hour to workout at the gym, but again, I had work piling on top of me because I was trying to power through everything..... because YES, I was pregnant with our second. I knew I had to get caught up on everything before I left for 12 weeks of maternity leave.

We were excited and thrilled, but let me tell you. The fear was there. It was thick. I was not ready to go back to feeling the way I did…exhausted, anxious, constantly worrying.  I knew our already busy life would get even busier. How was that possible?

When would I find time to work out? When would I find time for me?? I knew I NEEDED that. I needed those endorphins. And most of all, I needed SOMETHING for me!!

I knew I had to find a way to hold myself accountable when it came to working out and NOT allow myself to feel bad. I NEEDED the energy. And with that mindset, my pregnancy was pretty great. I stuck with my afternoon workouts once or twice a week and spent a lot of time walking or biking on the weekends. But I still felt like I was always in a race against time when I was at the gym. It always took time to pack for the gym, get to the gym, workout at the gym and then shower and get back home. It was never a 20 minute escape. It was always 2+ hours and I didn't always have that. I knew when #2 came, I would most definitely NOT have 2 extra hours in my day. 

Among it all, we decided to move when I was 6 months pregnant and I started to panic again as I was unpacking all the baby stuff and bottles and pump parts. Could I do this? Would my body bounce back? Would I be too exhausted to chase my toddler around and rock a baby to sleep too?

I think a post of Meg’s caught my eye. She had posted something very similar to what I had back in July. I thought about it all night long. I woke up thinking about it. When it eventually grew into a gut feeling, I knew it was something more. My gut has never failed me. I had to reach out to her. I told her I thought I wanted to be a coach. She invited me to a live call on coaching and I was sold. What was the WORST thing that could happen? I get healthy? I decide I hate working out at home? OK, then I learned my lesson.

OK. BEST DECISION EVER and I will say I’m kicking myself that I didn’t do this back when that first initial conversation started.

What has changed?

The biggest thing is that I OWN something. This is FOR ME. That speaks volumes because it is VERY easy to lose yourself in your kids. I did it. But this is something I can hold onto for me. It’s hard to explain but it really makes me feel like I do matter. I mean, I know I matter to those around me, but it’s very easy when you have a toddler throwing a tantrum, a husband trying to ask you something and spit up running down your chest, to wonder…who am I anymore?

Beachbody has made me realize that lil’ ol me can make a difference. A BIG difference. I can still have my dreams and continue to dream up more of them up and chase after them. I can go after them regardless of where I’m at in my life.

I started doing PiYo and drinking Shakeology during my second pregnancy. I WAS HOOKED!!! 25 minutes and I had an awesome workout in and I was refueling with a natural superfood. Heck yes!!! I was able to meal prep or spend more quality time with my family rather than commuting to and from the gym. I had an insane amount of energy. I can’t even describe it. It was like I was nesting 24/7. I worked out all the way up until the day my second was born. Soon I was doing T25 (awesome!) and Insanity Max:30 (nuts!).

My first son’s labor was 39.5 hours of misery. I had my second in less than two hours from arriving to the hospital and in one push. That was also during the week I was offering 5-days of clean eating! Coincidence? 

I wake up every morning PUMPED. I am excited. I get to change lives. I get to inspire. I get to motivate someone to change their life, to take control of their health to see that THEY TOO can do this and feel the same way I do!!!!

This business is FUN for me. It’s almost like an obsession because I’m addicted to the positivity and inspiration beachbody provides every day. It’s that awesome.

When I hear stories from my challengers, that they are either losing weight or gaining confidence or finding energy, they are playing with their kids and doing fun activities, or even talking to their husbands again and laughing, I swear my entire day is made. It’s incredible.

My relationship with my husband is even better. I feel like he's my teammate. I am happier. I’m less stressed. I see the GOOD in him and every situation.

I feel like I’m showing my boys that they can still dream regardless of what comes their way. That if they simply believe in themselves, they can change the world. That a lot of the time we are standing in our own way of making our dreams come true.

Financially… I’m not a top coach by any means yet. But we have two in daycare right now. That is about the cost of another mortgage. I’m able to help pay for that. I was able to pay a chunk of my maternity leave too. That gives me a sense of pride!

And that is my story! There’s more to my journey too, but for the most part that’s what has happened. 

So my question to you is what are YOU waiting for? What’s holding you back? Are you the one standing in your own way when it comes to making a change in your life? 

Contact me for more questions on coaching via email or find me on Facebook!

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