Take the New Beachbody Challenge!

Before today, you might have heard of the Beachbody Challenge. If you haven't, you have a chance to submit a before and after picture on the Team Beachbody site for a chance to win $500 in a monthly prize. Well now Beachbody has announced that they are saying goodbye to the old program, and ushering in a new contest!

Instead of a weekly challenge, you now have the chance to win in a Daily Beachbody Challenge Contest. Here are the details:

What 's the difference?

No more random winners. With the new contest, our expert panel of Beachbody Challenge judges will select an "inspirational story of the day" to win the $500. Real people. Real results. Real winners. How awesome is that?

What does it mean for you?

The new contest gives you more incentive to submit your results. It also means you'll have a new success story to share on Facebook, Twitter, and beyond every single day. You'll never run out of inspiration (or chances to win).

What are the benefits and opportunities?

You can win $500, be recognized on a major Web site, and inspire thousands of others just for reaching your own goals. It will also help you stay motivated and on track!

Want to see the winners from July? Click here to be inspired!

I hope to see some of you on there in the future! Contact me for Shakeology, Workout Programs, or a Challenge Pack to get started. (I highly recommend a Challenge Pack if you are just starting out, by the way!)

And sorry about the odd formatting folks! Blogger doesn't seem to like it when I copy and paste from the Beachbody Coach page. It tends to do funny things to my text.

Shakeology Change

If you have tried Shakeology before (or even if you haven't) there is some news! The company wants you to stay informed of these changes, so below I will have copy and pasted the release from Beachbody regarding the changes. Since my current doctor told me to not drink it during pregnancy, I haven't tried the new formula yet. But rest assured, if I have the opportunity to try it once I get a new doctor, I will update you on what I think of the new formula. OR you can try it yourself, there is always the "Bottom of the Bag Guarantee"--In short, if you don't like it, even after you have consumed the entire bag, you can still get all of your money refunded to you.

So without further ado, here is the information:

Why did they change the formula?

We decided to upgrade the formula with 4 new superfoods and a whole host of other improvements. The original chocolate launched 3 years ago and development started 2 years before that. In the past 5 years there have been a lot of discoveries of new superfoods and improvements made in sourcing key ingredients. We wanted you to have the very latest, healthiest shake possible. We’re in the business of making health shakes not liquid candy.

What exactly did they change in the new formula?

• LESS FRUCTOSE-Yes, fructose is natural, but bottom line: it’s sugar.  We reduced the fructose and added the sweet Superfoods Coconut Flower Nectar and Luo Han Guo. 
• MORE FIBER-Fiber increased from 3g to 6g due to the addition of pea protein
• More fiber is good news:  will help you feel full even longer, better for digestion and can also help with cholesterol
•  4 NEW SUPERFOODS-
• Moringa is rich in Vitamin C, Calcium, Vitamin A, Protein, Potassium and Iron. Moringa has antiPinflammatory and anti bacterial properties and is known to promote energy, vitality, athletic performance, and weight loss while boosting the immune system, and protecting against disease.
• Coconut,Flower,Nectar and Luo,Han,Guo are superfoods that are naturally sweet and lend natural sweetness to Shakeology.
• Coconut Flower Nectar is high in potassium, magnesium, zinc, and iron and contains 17 amino acids plus is a natural source of B vitamins.
• Luo Han Guo has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for more than a millennium due to its antioxidant properties and immunePsupporting benefits.
• Himalayan,salt is a healthy salt, containing more than 70 trace minerals
• Plus we incorporated the improvements we made from Tropical:
• More concentrated grasses. We’re using grass juice powders. The grasses are first pressed  into juices—which allows us to concentrate the nutrients more—then the juice is dried down to a powder.
• Better strain of probiotics
• No suma root or blue-green algae

Why is there brown rice protein and pea protein?

It adds fiber and helps ease digestion of protein.

The new formula has less sugar. Will it still prevent my junk food cravings?

Yes, it’s not just the sugar that kills your craving it’s feeding your body with all the right nutrients.

Why is there more sodium? What is Himalayan Salt? Why was it added into the new Chocolate Shakelogy formula?

Salt and sodium are necessary in our diets. Unfortunately, common table salt has been stripped of its natural minerals and only iodine has been added back in. Himalayan salt is completely natural, relatively  untouched, and as a result, still contains over 70 trace minerals. All these natural minerals found in Himalayan salt actually make this salt healthy for you. Keep in mind that the RDA is 2400 mg. People who follow a low sodium diet generally restrict sodium to as low as 1500mg/day. So at 150mg, Chocolate Shakeology only represents 10% of the recommended daily intake.

Is the new chocolate superfood formula gluten-free?

Just like the original formula, the new Shakeology chocolate superfood formula does not contain any Gluten-based ingredients and we make every effort to prevent any ingredients with gluten from coming into direct or indirect contact with our products.  However, because of our high standards we do not feel it is appropriate to make a gluten-free claim since Shakeology is produced in facilities that also handle gluten-based ingredients.  If you have a concern about gluten it is best to consult your doctor before making any dietary changes

Confession Time!

Well the first thing I need to do is tell some wonderful news. You probably already know this news if you know me. I am 12 weeks pregnant with our second baby! Yay for R&R babies!

So my idea during this pregnancy was to stay fit. I received the all-clear from my doctor to continue Insanity as long as I was able to do so. And for the first six weeks, it was pretty easy. I wanted to be one of those pregnant women who could say "I was active my entire pregnancy." or at least her legs and arms still looked toned! I worked so hard to get here, and while I am not in denial and know that I am going to gain about 25 pounds (if not more) while pregnant, I wanted to do it the healthy way. The doctor told me that I had to give up my Shakeology (boo!) but hey, at least I could work out and hopefully eat decently.

Well after six weeks, I started getting dizzy if I did the quick bending down motions of Insanity. So I switched to P90X--still intense, but not as much and nothing like suicide drills. Then morning sickness began to rear its ugly head. At first it was just in the day time. By evening I could eat dinner, so I at least tried to continue with my weight routines from P90X. The fatigue that occurs with the first trimester was slowly starting to hit me as well, and that did not help me to keep up like I wanted to.

Finally, two weeks ago, my nausea started lasting all day long. No sea bands, ginger gum, or lemonade could make it subside enough to eat a decent meal. My morning sickness would ebb at 9PM, meaning that is when I would finally be able to eat. Other than that, there was just no fuel in my tank to get started in a workout at any point in the day.

So here I am, twelve weeks pregnant, and my workouts have temporarily stopped. I say temporarily because once this period of extreme morning sickness finally leaves me, I am going to start exercising again. I can't get back into P90X and Insanity is definitely not going to happen for the next 28 weeks, but I do want to doing a workout routine again soon. The muscle tone in my arms and legs has greatly diminished the past couple of weeks. I have lost more weight, but only because the morning sickness has been so terrible that I have lost weight unwillingly due to my inability to eat anymore. (Not a great way to ever lose weight!)

I would be lying if I said I didn't feel like a failure at the moment. I had become so healthy, lost so much weight, and had become involved in a great routine and a wonderful program. I know that when you are pregnant, your body doesn't always cooperate with your desires. But I am so disappointed that I couldn't live up to my own expectations on this round.

So wish me luck. Hopefully the morning sickness has only gotten temporarily worse and will subside in the next couple of weeks. I am hoping to at least start Tai Cheng and walking to start getting back in to a routine. If anything else, I know that once I have this baby, I am capable of getting back in shape. I have done it once before, and I can do it again. I won't let myself reach the point I had before, where I was overweight and in desperate need of a lifestyle change, so at least I can be thankful for that.