Amazing BeachBody Stories of Health and Wellness Transformation

You can reach your health and wellness goals, too! BeachBody programs are just that good, plain and simple! Contact me at drkurtlove@gmail.com or go to http://beachbodycoach.com/drkurtlove to get amazing programs like TurboFire, Insanity, and P90X!

BeachBody's Ultimate Reset: A 21-Day Cleanse Experience - And What A Great One It Is!!

Is a 21-day cleanse right for you? If you're not pregnant or breastfeeding, chances are that this is the best thing that you can do for yourself to regain energy, feel balanced, and clean your body of toxins -- the healthy way!

This is not a cleanse where you eat only one kind of food or go hungry. Yet, it's a cleanse, so it's not exactly a walk in the park either.


After doing this cleanse, I can say that I definitely feel so much better. Here's the quick breakdown of the days:

 Day 1 - No sweat! Just eating some healthy food, taking some natural supplements (similar to those found in Shakeology...but amped up a bit and reformulated for the purpose of a cleanse)and...oh, and drinking a lot of water! I peed like...well, I peed a lot, my friends.  

Day 2 - Not bad, but I was noticing a slight headache coming on later in the day. Something tells me I was beginning to do a sugar withdrawal. Still drinking a lot of water (yes, distilled as per the instructions) and peeing like a madman...but hey, it is a cleanse! I noticed, by the way, that there's still some of my wife's birthday cake sitting on the counter. Yummy, yummy cake, but I was good -- not a lick! Traded the leftover cake for kale...I'm so proud of myself.  

Day 3 - Ah, the sugar withdrawal has set in. The headache, somewhere in the neighborhood of a 4 or 5 on the Richter scale, is fairly constant, so I know that this cleanse is doing it's job. It's all good, though. My body needs to do this. The food is good, the water is plentiful (I'm drinking about 96 ounces or so every day -- basically my weight divided by 2 which determines the number of ounces), and I'll be honest, at night I had the world's worst craving for that birthday cake. Seriously, it was a ridiculously strong craving -- an 8 or 9 out of 10 kind of craving. Have mercy! I managed to drink some water and get my butt to bed before my hands reached out and made the move to cut a piece or three. Oh, I totally crashed for a nap in the late afternoon. Haven't done that in a while, and man oh man did I need it!  

Day 4 - Woke up, still with a slight headache -- probably a 2 or 3 -- and made my way to the kitchen to get some water and start the day. The birthday cake was there, and maybe it was because it was morning, but I felt only a small craving for it. I managed to eat some eggs, toast, and spinach to keep my mind off of it. The rest of the day was totally uneventful if, of course, you pay no attention to the fact that there was an 80th birthday party for a family member that included pizza from my favorite pizza place. Ugh! Yes, I was good and ate none of it. The family was supportive even though I could see a little bit of "poor guy" vibes here and there. That was a tough day. Oh yes, still drinking and peeing. Anyone notice a difference in the levels of the ocean over the last four days? Don't blame me...blame the cleanse!

 Day 5 - I ate everything I was supposed to today, but at the end of the day, I was really hungry for some reason. I allowed myself to eat an egg salad sandwich at the end of the day. Sue me, ok! ;-) As I knew that this was almost the last day of the cleanse where animal foods were going to be present, I didn't feel so bad eating it. All things considered, I am doing really well, and I can see that my body is adjusting.  

Day 6 - Oh, that birthday cake! Why is it still in my life stalking me? I want a restraining order on this thing! Somebody please chuck this thing!! My cravings aren't bad, but yep, there still there. I'd love to say that I'm not peeing as much...really, I'd love to say that. Wait a second, I have to go pee...I'm back. Where were we? Oh yes, let me just warn you about this peeing thing. It creeps up on you. One minute you're vacuuming the house, all is good, and the next minute the pee monster residing in your bladder decides that only emergencies are allowable, and you moan all the way to the bathroom. Trust me, if you're going to go drive anywhere, pee before you leave, and bring an empty bottle from the recycling bucket just in case. Food was good. I ate it.  

Day 7 - Food is tasty, love all the salads, yippee ;-) Wouldn't mind a cupcake every once in a while, but hey, it's a cleanse, right? Remember that advice to pee before you go driving somewhere? Totally, totally listen to that advice. I was running late for work (my modus operandi) and while I was sitting in the car...in traffic...my bladder monster arose from it's slumber. In a matter of a mere 15 minutes, I went from a twinge of "Oh, I must tinkle" to "Holy crap, there must be a 4-alarm fire somewhere that I can put out right now!" Ran (gently...gently) down the hall to the restroom at work. My boss probably thinks I'm doing drugs in the bathroom because I went there at least 7 times more before the day was through. Do I feel lighter and more balanced? Um, yes. Is the cleanse working? Yes, but trust me, peeing is the most important thing I care about at this point.

 Day 8 - I made it to the second week! I've lost about 3+ pounds or so since I've started the cleanse. I started at 195 lbs, and I'm down to about 192 lbs. I'm making progress. This week, the fun really begins because when I looked at each day's menu for the week, I had to chuckle. I'm not kidding when I say that there's about as much food on there for the whole day that I would eat for dinner and still be hungry because there's no meat. Am I hungry, though? Yes, of course, but it's reasonable, especially if I stick to the schedule of eating every couple of hours or so like I'm supposed to. It's not an easy cleanse...but hey, it's a cleanse. Honestly, I'm doing pretty good with it, and mentally, emotionally, I feel like there's some clearing going on. I notice that my attention is not nearly as distracted as it generally is. My emotions are much more even and balanced, and I feel a whole lot lighter and fresher, if that makes sense.  

Day 9 - I can't believe I didn't learn from the other day...BRING A BOTTLE FROM THE RECYCLING BIN!! You guessed it, the pee monster was on the warpath, and yet again, I was stuck in traffic!! Take the bus people!! Ran to the bathroom, past my colleague, shouted some words about being right back, but I'm sure it was not clear and sounded more like a train going by with the doppler effect on the sound. No? Doppler effect? Anyway, I think today was a break through day. I'm pretty used to eating quinoa, salads, and various fibrous veggies. I actually look forward to the meals, and I'm not thinking about that birthday cake, which is still in my house. Ok, for real? That thing is dead. Bury the sucker, already!  

Day 10 - Halfway through the cleanse, baby! Amazing to have gotten this far, but here I am. I'm eating probably about 1/4 of what I would eat on a normal day, and I'm basically good with that. Granted, I'm not exactly doing Insanity workouts or busting out the pull-ups with P90X, but it's all very good at this point. If I follow the schedule I'm supposed to for food and water, I am not hungry. I'm liking the food. I'm well past the sugar withdrawal. I can't complain at this point.  

Day 11 - I felt good yesterday, and today I feel great! For lunch, I realized that I didn't have the right combo of ingredients, so I ate some leftover soup and quinoa with pine nuts, and I have to tell you that I was actually stuffed. It was weird, to be honest. So, my stomach has shrank, I take it. Amazing! Really amazing! I feel great! Before the cleanse, I felt pretty awful. I was tired. I was totally sluggish and slow. I was addicted to sugary and fatty foods even though I was doing Shakeology every day, which I know was keeping me in somewhat of a balance. I was stressed out from work, and life in general. Today is the real first day of the cleanse that I can begin to see how much good it's doing for me. I feel really good, and I know it's going to get better. I'm starting to really understand the power of healthy, whole foods and the overall impact that it has on one's health and wellness. If you haven't seen this video, it explains why cleansing one's body and eating properly is so very important. Here's a person who recovered from Multiple Sclerosis simply by eating healthily:

 

More to come on the rest of the days...stay tuned!

 Want to get this BeachBody's Ultimate Reset cleanse? You certainly can at: http://beachbodycoach.com/drkurtlove or contact me at drkurtlove@gmail.com

Is P90X or RevAbs for Everyone?

If a 400+lb person can do it, so can you.

The simple answer is yes, P90X and RevAbs is for everyone who is able to exercise.

Let's Be Honest...This is More Than Just Not Liking Exercise
I hear all too often people saying things like, "I am too out of shape to do P90X," "It's for young people only," or "I can't do pull-ups." It's one thing when somebody says statements like these because they are just looking for excuses to not exercise. That person should be honest with him or her self and just say, "I don't want to work out because I like sitting on my big butt way better than getting healthy and in shape," or something to that effect ;-) In a way, I get that. Not everyone is ready to commit to taking care of themselves, and in a society that's inundated with cheap, superficially entertaining and addictive foods that have a firm grip on us. So, even though people who are choosing that path CAN do a challenging, structured workout program, in their own heads the answer is still "no," which is very, very sad to see when it happens.

If you find that you're constantly giving yourself reason after reason to not do a higher quality workout program, then ask yourself if those reasons are just because you don't want to lose certain parts of your lifestyle (i.e. comfort foods, emotional eating, daily routines that you may not readily see alternatives for, etc.).

This is Bigger Than Just Deciding To Be or Not To Be Healthy
Problem #1: Knowledge
A lot of fitness people will just say to make the commitment to being healthy, and that's going to be the most important first step. On some level, I can agree with that because ultimately we do have to make that decision, but there's more to it than that. People can say to themselves that enough is enough and that they want to be healthy, but getting there is often a very difficult process with lots of questions of how to do it. If you don't know how to cook well, don't have a decent bank of recipes where you can afford the food, or don't know how to create a structured work out program that will appropriately challenge you, it's going to get frustrating. It's no wonder that so many people start up at the gym at the beginning of the year (for their New Year's resolution) and by March are pretty much giving up. So, problem #1 is having the knowledge.

Problem #2: The Large Hyper-Consumer and Addictive Food Culture
For us, in the United States of Obesity (2/3rds of all states have 25% obesity rates or higher), excuses are a big part of our plus sized developments. To actually address a problem like this is not as easy as eating cheesy poofs and watching Desperate House Wives or Fear Factor. The dumber and fatter we are, the more profits the big corporations such as Pfizer, Altria (formerly Phillip-Morris), Unilever, Kraft, General Mills, Nestle, and Wal-Mart make. From the perspective of the food and pharmaceutical companies, the fatter we are, the more big box stores, pharmaceutical companies, and large food companies profit. Conversely, the more we are in shape, use locally grown foods as part of our diets, and avoid foods that come in cans or boxes, the healthier we are, and the more we are empowered to shape the issue of nutritional food accessibility issues (aka food security issues). Foods are often made with the intention of creating addictive behaviors, which equals bigger profits. The right combination of sugars, fats, and salts is well known by food companies and they exploit the crap out of it. This is very predatory on their part, and the first step is us having that level of awareness.

Clearly, I'm speaking from a deeper place of frustration, but our dramatic recent increase in rates of obesity (in 1991, there were no states with obesity rates at or above 20%) in the US is deeply alarming and is most definitely a social justice and civil rights issue at this point. The only ones who have access to healthy foods are those who can afford them, which is tied to issues of transportation, education, and socioeconomics.

Problem #3: Mindset
So many people are basically backing up this system of injustice when they say that they aren't willing to do a strong, well-structured fitness program. Have you ever said any of these: I'm too old, too much overweight, too busy, or too injured. There are answers that can address every singly one of these issues, but these become mental blocks for people that they hunker down on. Don't be stubborn. You owe it to yourself to say, "Even though I am _________, I can still do an appropriately challenging and well-structured workout program to get me into amazing shape and be healthy."

Problem #4: Money
The one excuse that can be a real barrier for some people is not having enough money, especially if we're talking about purchasing a program like P90X. If you're struggling paying for food and keeping your home, clearly this may not be the right time to spend money on a fitness program. Once again, accessibility becomes an issue for the same reasons as food insecurity issues. It cannot be overstated how much health/wellness and socioeconomics are tied to one another. There are some simple ways around that which are mainly resolved by people working out together in spaces that do not require memberships, dues, or buying equipment or, yes, DVD workout programs like P90X. Access to exercise, in my view, is relatively easier and seems to have less challenges.

However, there is a group of people who are spending their money on superfluous things and could easily afford a fitness program that can have a huge impact on their personal health, happiness, stress level, and relationships with food. This is the group that needs to take a second look at how money is influencing their long-term happiness. You know who you are! Going out to over-priced dinners, crappy movies, and buying things you know you don't need at the mall (not to mention the fact that those things were mostly likely made with child labor and sweatshop labor in a country most people probably can't find on a map). You know you can put your money into something much better for you and something that will give you much more balance in your life. Take a moment and ask yourself what you really want in your life, and I'm sure your answer will include deeper levels of health, balance, and happiness. Eating better, exercising, and having real meaningful relationships in life are pretty much the basic ways of doing that. Everything else either enhances them or distracts us from them.

One more thing about money...and this you'll never find from any gym on the planet. You can make totally legit money by working out with a program like P90X and sharing it with friends and family who are interested. You can get fit and healthy, help others to get fit and healthy like me, and money doing it. So far, I've made about $400 since September doing this. It's not a gimmick, or a racket at all. So, I've actually earned money working out with P90X. No gym is going to do that for me, even if I refer people to the gym. I know it might sound different, and I know you may have never considered doing it, but why not? Here's more information...click here.

Simple Answers
"Soul-ution" #1: Modify Your Exercises
It can seem really quite intimidating at first to anyone who is not terribly knowledgeable about exercise and good nutritional practices...BUT, anyone can do a challenging fitness program like P90X and RevAbs and take back their health if they are willing to commit to the process and modify exercises. Whether you think you're too old, too overweight, or too weak, modifying exercises it the answer you're looking for. If a 400+lb person could figure it out (click here for an amazing story of how someone lost 233lbs using P90X), then you can do it. The biggest trick is sometimes figuring out how to modify an exercise. Fortunately, this is why P90X and RevAbs are so good. They instructors give modifications for every move. And yet, there are more modifications that can still be done if you have a basic understanding about exercise. I am going to be posting several blogs on this topic very shortly. Keep an eye out for them.

"Soul-ution" #2: Make a Schedule
This is key. I am an assistant professor (untenured), so I have such little time in the day to do anything besides work. After about a year and a half of not working out at all, I did final say to myself that enough was enough. I'm not on this planet to work myself to death and be in constant imbalance with my mind-body-spirit connection, which is exactly where I was up until July 2011. I reset my priorities to put my health and happiness first (which also meant spending more time with my beautiful wife and daughter). As part of that resetting of priorities, I made getting in shape and reclaiming my health an important part of it. As a father and husband, I want to be happy, healthy, and full of energy for my family. I found that I was getting more and more cranky, and more and more unhappy. That was totally unacceptable, and I started by simply finding time in the day to work out by making a schedule. That was the start of everything for me. I spent less time working, getting more done because I was using my time more wisely, and I was generally feeling much less stressed about work. By taking the simple step of looking at how I was using time in my days and making a commitment to having an hour everyday to do a workout (still less time than I was spending with going to the gym when travel time was factored in), it made it possible for me to do a high quality workout. My mind is less stressed and so much happier, my body is already so much healthier, and I feel much more connected to my spirit and soul. I've even found time to meditate more often...something that is central to my spirituality. This is probably too much information, but sex is better, too!

"Soul-ution" #3: Mo' Money is Mo' Money!
In late August, I decided that I would become a BeachBody Coach, and it has been such a great decision. I'm a professor, so it's not like I needed a second job, to be honest, but it's provided another outlet to connect with and support people, and even another income source. If you don't think you can afford this, give it a second thought. I buy Shakeology monthly at $90 for us Coaches (rather than the regular $120), and I pay $12 monthly for an online membership at TeamBeachBody.com, which is a great resource for person-to-person support, meal plans, and charting my progress. That's the "cost" of being a BeachBody Coach. The startup fee is $40. So, I've made back all that money so far, every month is growing a little more and more, and I'm even more focused on having good health and wellness because it's part of how I earn some extra income. I've lost 26 pounds so far, I eat healthier, I'm far less stressed, much happier with life, and I'm earning an extra income. After signing up two other coaches, I have BeachBody sending me customers now. I'm loving this!

So, these are 3 easy "soul-utions" that have made a hugely positive effect on my life.