Beachbody Challenge Winners

I could not breathe going up and down the stairs. My life consisted of working, coming home, eating, and laying on the couch. I was so uncomfortable with myself, I had gotten to a point where I did not even want to look in the mirror. I fought with my husband all the time, because I could not understand why he was with me, so I would just constantly see how far I could push him away. I was angry with my mother, because of how my life was. The worst was that I was constantly trying to keep my daughter from not turning out like me, but I realized finally that I had to change myself in order for her to have a better future.

My Beachbody Coach Rachael Winters. Her lowest body weight was 215, then she started Beachbody and is now 140. I did not think that it was possible to go from being obese to a normal size without having surgery. I thought that the smallest I could get was 230. Before Beachbody, I never thought it was possible for me to get under 200 pounds. I also wanted my daughter’s life to be better than my own. When I started, she was almost two years old, and she was already starting to pick up my bad habits. The only way I could change her future was if I changed my own.

I had so many challenges, but looking back on it now, the biggest one was changing my relationship with food. I have a problem that I think about food at all waking hours — at times I have even dreamed about it. Food was my best friend, but I had to teach myself that food is meant for survival. I cannot detach from feeling through food.

The list of Beachbody programs that I have not done is shorter than the ones I have done. I love something about all of them. Right now Body Beast is my main program. With my extreme weight loss, I have a lot of loose skin. Building muscle has made me feel more confident in my skin regardless of the loose skin.

I am most proud of what I am physically capable of. It is an amazing feeling as a woman to feel like you can protect yourself with your own strength.

Everything in my life has changed. Working out and meal prepping is my hobby. I love sharing this with everyone, because my life has gotten so much better since starting Beachbody programs that I want to share it with everyone, and I do! I feel that I am more relaxed as a person. I have so much more energy, and I feel younger now than I did 10 years ago. I love getting dressed every day, because usually whatever I put on looks good on my body. I love how much happier all these changes have made my family. We do so many activities together. Before, our together time was eating and watching movies. Now that I have lost so much weight, I get messages and phone calls from people daily asking me how they too can change their life; that is the best part of all. I have been obese my entire life. There are many things that I wanted to do when I was younger that the weight kept me from being able to do. I hope that now I have changed my life, hopefully I can change someone else’s too.

Prior to my journey, I was repulsed by my body. I had just given birth to twin sons, and while I loved being a mother, I hated the fact that I still looked pregnant months later. Nothing fit, and I was depressed. I wouldn’t go shopping, and I avoided mirrors at all costs. I didn’t even want to take pictures, because I was so embarrassed about my body, especially my stomach. I have a condition called diastasis recti, and was told the only way to lose the stomach fat was to get cosmetic surgery. That made me even more depressed. People would always tell me how fat I had gotten, and it hurt me so deeply. To think an experience that was supposed to be so positive made me feel so unattractive and disgusted. I was jealous of all of my friends, and I never wanted to be seen in public. I just wanted to hide.

I had lost weight right before I got pregnant with my twins, and I knew I could do it. I was tired of being jealous of all of my friends. I was tired of wondering whether my husband could possibly be attracted to me knowing that I was about 90 pounds heavier than when we met. I wanted to be in shape. I wanted to be able to play with my twin sons, and run after them without running out of breath. I just wanted to be a better me. I wanted better health, but I also wanted to look good in my clothes. My confidence was almost nonexistent. One day, a coworker came up to me and told me in front of everyone that I let myself go. At first, I was embarrassed, then enraged, and then motivated. Deep down inside I knew she was right. I no longer could blame the twins for my look nine months later. I was inspired to try something different.

The greatest challenge I faced was finding the time to work out with two newborn sons. I was breastfeeding at the time, and they were also very needy. I also had a nine-year-old daughter in fourth grade that needed assistance. In addition, I was juggling being a wife and a full-time teacher. I also coached dance. It seemed almost impossible at times. With T25 only being 25 minutes, it was perfect for me. It’s easy to find 25 minutes during their naptime. Sometimes when the music would come on, they would start to dance. Indirectly, I felt as though they were cheering me on. I felt a new sense of motivation. Nutrition was also a challenge as well. It’s hard to cook healthy meals for yourself while cooking other tasty meals for everyone else. I followed the meal guide and used recipes posted in my Challenge Group, which helped me to overcome my challenges. Not to mention, the meals were so tasty, the entire family loved them; it made the process so much easier.

I loved that there was a modifier, because I struggle with jumping. I used to tell people that running and jumping were against my religious beliefs. I hated it that much. The modifier allowed me to keep up, yet I was still drenched in sweat by the time I was done. I loved the moves as well, because it felt like dancing sometimes. What I love most about the program is Shaun T. I love his spirit and positive energy. I love how he is so charismatic. I love how he encourages you, and for a minute, you truly feel as though you are not alone. I truly felt that Shaun T really cared about the people watching the video. He wanted us to be and do our best. He motivated me through a television screen better than trainers at the gym were doing and for a lot less money.

I lost four dress sizes and 59 pounds with FOCUS T25. I feel incredible. I feel lighter; I’m sleeping and breathing better; I am not as tired; my energy has skyrocketed; and I’m overall just a happier person. Prior to T25, I never thought I could complete an exercise program. I hated exercise. I only liked exercise if it was dance-related. If there wasn’t dancing, I wanted nothing to do with it. When I tried T25, I never thought I would actually finish it. The achievements that I am most proud of are finishing the program twice and that my results have inspired others. That makes me so proud, because it’s something that I never thought I could do.

Since completing the program, the biggest change I’ve made is my attitude. I don’t approach things with an attitude of doubt. I am always positive and always smiling. If a situation seems unattainable, I think of ways to conquer it. I don’t have a defeatist attitude anymore. I don’t sit down, cry, and drown myself in ice cream and chicken wings. If someone makes me mad, I work out and take my aggression out on the workout. I also don’t feel powerless. I realize that I have more control over life than I would like to admit. It’s easy to sit and complain about being overweight, but do nothing about it. Since Beachbody, I realize that I will only be as fat as I allow myself to be. If I don’t like being fat, I have the power to change that with help. I truly feel like there is nothing I can’t accomplish thanks to FOCUS T25 and Beachbody. I am so grateful for everything.

Checking in daily encouraged me to work out, even when I didn’t want to. There were so many nights, being a mom of three, that it would be 10 PM and I still hadn’t worked out. Normally, I would simply make an excuse, but the challengers and my Coach wouldn’t allow it. I often did things out of a sense of loyalty to the other challengers. I never wanted to let anyone down, and I knew that we were all in the struggle together. If I messed up with a food choice, I felt encouraged, not defeated. I was also often given healthy alternatives to the unhealthy food I loved, which made healthy nutrition more appealing to me. When I didn’t want to work out, my Challenge Group partners encouraged me to work out. They held me accountable. I also tried to inspire others while in this process, and that made me more motivated, because I had to practice what I was preaching. We became a mini-sisterhood.

In 2008, I began having symptoms of nerve pain, fatigue, weakness, difficulty walking, and muscle spasms all over my body. I was hospitalized and was found to have high levels of protein in my cerebrospinal fluid which indicated an inflammatory process going on in my body. I have spent the last 6 years in and out of the hospital with flare ups. My neurologist thinks my problems are autoimmune in nature, but I have never been given a definite diagnosis. I have lost several jobs due to my health problems over the past 6 years. My wife was carrying the load of our entire family and it was killing me. I hated looking at myself in the mirror because I knew the real me was in there somewhere. I was depressed and sick of being on a multitude of treatments and prescription drugs that were doing nothing to help me. I felt like I had to take control of my life and body if I was ever going to find myself again.

My family is my WHY for getting my health back, and they continue to be what drives me everyday to be the healthiest I can be everyday. My 3 kids needed their dad back, so I resolved that no matter how much it hurt, no matter how much pain I may endure, I was going to conquer my weight. I was determined that my family would get the REAL ME back. My wife Erica has never given up on me; she has been and is still to this day my ultimate inspiration!! The first few months of working out were painful, but it has been worth it — tenfold.

The greatest challenge was making sure my body would not flare up with muscle spasms and nerve pain, and so far with Beachbody programs alongside Shakeology(which is the best), I am conquering my health issues!!

In all, I have completed Focus T25, P90X3, Insanity, Body Beast, and most recently INSANITY MAX:30. I loved that I could start slow with Focus T25, and as I got stronger, I became not only more flexible, but my energy and stamina has become AMAZING. I love P90X3, because it has made me stronger. Focus T25 helped my cardio and x3 has made me stronger. Because the auto immune disease took me out of working out for years, I REALLY needed to strengthen my arms, legs, and back. These programs have given me strength beyond what I could have imagined.

I started my first Beachbody program (Focus T25) in September 2013. In the first 9 months, I lost 100 pounds!! In 1 year, I lost 112 pounds, and I’m pleased to report that after almost 2 years, not only have I kept it off, I’ve continued to lose even more! I have NOT missed a day drinking my Shakeology. I have never felt so good!! I look and feel better now than when I was in my mid 20’s. I am 41 now! My body fat has gone from 46% to 17%. My cholesterol was checked in Oct 2013 right after I started T25. It was checked again in May 2014. Here are the amazing results: Before After Total cholesterol 325 -> 177; Triglycerides 647 -> 92; LDL too high to calculate -> 104; HDL 45 -> 55.

T-25, P90X3, INSANITY, Body Beast, INSANITY MAX:30 … and of course Shakeology everyday has changed my life by giving my life back! How? I can play with my kids! My wife has never seen me look and feel so good! I have suffered through this auto immune disease by having multiple lumbar punctures, multiple trips to the hospital, sometimes spending up to two weeks at a time getting a flare up under control. This has changed my life!!! I have my life back, because I can run with my kids. I am not hurting. I have energy. I AM HAPPY again. I am spreading a passion now for fitness for those who feel like they have no hope. Well, there is always hope, and it’s my life’s aim to ignite fitness and clean eating by sharing with people what Team Beachbody can do for them.

I created a Challenge group called CAMP. Clean Eating, Accountability, Movement, and Progress! I had to make sure I was doing my part so that I was being a great example to the group. I love Challenge Groups. It’s what makes working out tick and come together!!

Shakeology is the best product on the market for energy, sleep, mood, digestion, regularity and finally curbing my appetite from sweets. Without shakeology, I would not have done as well, especially being on prednisone which makes you crave everything! I no longer crave unhealthy food, but crave healthy food. I cannot think what I would have done without it! I have more energy than ever before. I am thinking clearly. I am excited and passionate about life again!!! I am also taking the P90X after workout drinkand WOW, are you kidding me?! This drink helps me feel better after working my butt off, it makes my muscles feel better and I am not as sore. I have never in 5 years felt this good! I will take Shakeology forever, and I mean that. I am getting the nutrition I need, and my body has recovered from 5 years of multiple hospitalizations, and I am off all medications. Shakeology has brought me back to health. [note: consult your physician before stopping any medication]

My blood pressure is down. It used to be really high, now it is normal. My triglycerides are back to normal, cholesterol is normal again. I may not need my neurologist anymore but for a YEARLY visit.

I always lived an active life and was involved in sports until I left for college in 2004. I weighed around 160lbs. This is where my weight gain began. My husband and I got married in 2009 and I was almost 200lbs. I got pregnant a couple of months later and was 208lbs at that time. I put on 35lbs that pregnancy. I dropped down to 205lbs pretty quickly due to the stress of her being in the nicu for 2 months. My husband deployed shortly after and I found myself just staying at about 205-210lb range. I got pregnant with our son shortly after he came home and was 212lbs. When I left the hospital I was 264lbs. Heaviest I had ever been. I was miserable, I always cropped pictures above the waist, I was embarrassed to say the least. I bought clothes bigger so my body would be hidden. I knew I needed a change and Insanity was it for me. Go big or go home right? I had 6 weeks of recovery from my emergency c-section so I took that time to get my nutrition on track and prepare to start Insanity.

First off, I wanted to better myself physically and mentally! I was depressed, I was a homebody bc I was ashamed at my appearance. My kids and husband are a huge inspiration to me. My husband was set to deploy soon and I was bound and determined to shock him with the “new”, fit me when he came home!! Seeing that scale when I came home from the hospital after having my son and being heavier than ever before I knew that it was time for a change. I didn’t want to just get around to my pre-pregnancy weight like I did with my daughter. I wanted to be the best me I could possibly be and that I knew I could be. My asthma was out of control. I was on a daily maintenance inhaler and using my rescue inhaler more than recommended. I was out of breath just bringing the groceries in the house. Being an Army wife there are times where I am on my own with the kids for months or a year and my kids needed me healthy. I didn’t want them finding me passed out on the floor from an asthma attack.

Having two kids did a number on my body and having high risk pregnancies with both had really put a lot of stress on my body. Dealing with a post pregnancy body was such a challenge. I was beating myself up over having to have a csection and the weight not falling right off like it did with my daughter. Insanity and and Shaun T gave me that extra boost and confidence I needed. I am so proud of myself and the person I have become!! I have not been at this weight since 9th grade. I got the old me back just with a huge improvement and attitude. Insanity has truly transformed me inside and out. I have given it everything I have and I am no where near stopping. There is always room for improvement and I will keep improving myself everyday. It wasn’t just about losing weight, it was about getting healthy in all aspects of my life. My family, nutrition, fitness, myself physically and mentally. I set my mind to it and committed myself! It has been worth every sore muscle, every drop of sweat.

With Insanity, I loved the challenge. I knew it was going to be “Insane” and that is what excited me! It is the hardest program on DVD and I knew that it would get me to where I wanted to be. Shaun T is so motivating and I needed someone in my living room everyday telling me to keep going and Shaun T will do just that. Knowing that I really had to push myself and at the end of that workout when I knew I had given it my all hearing Shaun T say “Let’s Goooo” got my adrenaline back going again. When I first started the Heisman 1-2-3 terrified me. I thought I’d never get that move down and keep up. Proud to say today I can keep up throughout the entire warm-up!!!

My husband deployed April 2013. I had a 9 wk old & 2 1/2 yr old. A month into Insanity I found out my daughter had significant hearing loss & she began speech therapy. She was later diagnosed with Autism, ADHD and a speech and language delay. At this point I had finished up my first round of insanity where I lost 30lbs & 30 1/2 in. I started T25 after my first, my daughter had to have tubes, tonsillectomy and adenoids removed. In the middle of T25 I found out my son needed a small procedure so we were set for another surgery while my husband was still deployed. I completed T25,lost 18lbs & over 19 in. I have continued with Insanity/T25! I made it my goal to be 170 by the time my husband came home from deployment in November and I was 166lbs. He hadn’t seen more than my face so he was absolutely shocked. I have lost 111lbs, from a size 22-8, lost over 50 inches since Feb 2013.I lost 73lbs from April 2013 to March 2014 with Insanity. I have maintained my weight loss and I am on my third round of Insanity to build muscle and toning currently!

My life has had a complete turn around. I am more knowledge about nutrition and it has been a complete lifestyle change for me. I love fitness and incorporate it into my daily life. I have an entirely new level of confidence that I haven’t seen in about 10 years or so. I can walk into a store now and know that I will have no problem finding clothes and to me that is a big deal. I no longer find myself hiding underneath baggy clothing or clothes that are 1-2 sizes too big! I can truly say that if it weren’t for Beachbody and Shaun T I would not be where I am today. I am so much stronger. I believe in myself more than I ever have and for the first time in a long time I am truly proud of my accomplishments! Beachbody has given my my life back and the person I have longed to be for years now. It gave my kids the healthy mom that they deserve. I have a huge support group through my fellow Beachbody coaches who have become my friends.

Being in a challenge group with my coach was something I needed greatly. With my husband being deployed and no family around, I needed that support. Having my coach there every step of the way while seeing others succeed as well in the group was very motivating. My coach and her transformation with Insanity was a huge reason I chose Insanity as well. She was so supportive and continually educated me. She was the push I needed to begin Insanity and I am beyond thankful for her encouragement. Challenge groups are so important, especially when you don’t have much support in person and are going through this journey with no one around.

Before beginning my weight loss journey, I felt unhappy and disgusted with who I had become. I simply felt done with the way I looked, done with the way I felt, done with the person who I let myself become. I felt unmotivated in fitness, health, and happiness. After having my baby (4 months before I started insanity) I couldn’t even look at myself. I just felt yucky and ready to make a change in my life.

During the holidays, we went sledding and when I realized how hard it was to bend and move I knew something had to change! I saw a photo of me, and something in me just snapped. I knew that was it, it is time to make a difference for myself, my health, my family, and to set a healthy lifestyle for my kids. I don’t want them to see their mother as unmotivated and not willing to do anything to make a difference!! So I said ok, let’s see what Insanity can do for me to help me become a New better me for myself and my family! I want to be here for my children. Later on after doing Insanity a couple rounds, I decided to add T25 to the mix as well as running 3-5 miles 3 days a week.

The greatest challenge I faced before beginning was my eating habits. Before this program, my family and I would go out to dinner more often than needed, cooked a lot of comfort type foods, and yes I have a sweet tooth. This program helped me so much to over come this, because of not only the nutrition guide, but just by helping me realize what I was putting in my body. Calorie counting/ meal planning was new to me, but SO worth every second!! For example: Spaghetti nights at our house consisted of meat, sauce, and a TON of noodles. Once I got my food scale and actually weighed out the amount recommended in the nutrition guide I was shocked! I never had even stopped to think my portion sizes were so far off! Now I am VERY cautious and weigh/read/calorie count anything!!

I chose to start with Insanity, because I wanted something to ‘kick my butt’ and kick it hard. I knew I had the drive to stick with something once I started, but having it all laid out with a calendar and everything was SO NICE! It helped me to stay motivated and on track! I am proud to say I have completed Insanity three times now and am currently on my 4th round! I also completed T25 once! I am also proud to say I now run 4 miles 3 times a week! I would have never in my life thought I’d be doing what I can do today, so to that I say THANK YOU!!! You have changed my life, and will continue to 🙂

I LOVE Insanity. Simple as that! I LOVE how hard it works me, and every time I do it it’s just like the first time because I’m pushing the ‘new me’ harder!! I love the feeling I have after I’m done of, “Oh yea that’s right I just killed it!” When choosing to do T25, I loved the fact that I could get in a good work out in 25 minutes! Even after completing Insanity as many times as I have so far, I couldn’t believe how T25 really worked me! I was sweating just as much as I did while doing insanity! With having a baby, the idea of only needing 25 mins was awesome!! Or on days where I am super busy it’s so nice to pop it in and get it done!

Insanity and T25 have helped me loose 80lbs in 7 months and went from a size 18 in pants to a 8/9 and a xxl in shirts to a s/m! I have a TON of inches everywhere and can finally say I Love myself, love the way I look, and love the new confident and happy me!

Life is happy, healthy and well balanced! I feel like a great role model now for my children, and love the fact I can keep up with my oldest as he bikes and I run. I find myself craving to work out everyday now, and on my off days I almost feel guilty for not working out! I absolutely LOVE that I can say I look forward to working out, because I know I will get what I give!

To be completely honest, my life was totally miserable. In an eight month time frame from November of 2014 to June of 2015, after my birthday, I almost died twice from complications from blood clots. The first time they literally said if I had come in five minutes later I would have been dead. The second time I was not presenting as strong symptoms but I felt off and went. It ended up being just as bad as the first time in November. I was sad, only going out of my house to do customer appointments. After appointments I would lay on my couch all day and eat roughly 10,000 to 12,000 calories a day of junk. I had no off switch and I was essentially killing myself. I really did not feel worthy of anyone’s love and was just going through the motions everyday with no plan and could not see a future. I was deathly afraid of taking pictures because I thought I looked disgusting.

I was, for the first time, really confronted with my mortality and how long my time on the earth would play out. The second time with blood clots was scarier because the symptoms were not as evident as the first time and I thought next time I am just going to fall over and die like my dad did when I was 17. My doctors were aggressively trying to get me to do gastric bypass. When I was on a cruise with my mom she was even saying I should do gastric bypass because I could not do it by myself. Even all my sisters piled on. At first, I was extremely sad and then there was something in me telling me to show them all. After my cruise I started drinking old bags of Shakeology I had laying around and just reducing calories to a somewhat normal level until I got clearance. Then I saw Casey Walker’s Yahoo article and I reached out for help. He said he believed in me and the rest was history. Here it was, a complete stranger having faith in me when none of my doctors or family would.

My biggest challenge was I was newly released from workout restriction so I was constantly worried about how my leg would hold up because of the massive amount of weight I was carrying*. At my heaviest I was 410 pounds plus in June and on day officially starting workout plus eating on 8/3/15 I was 366 pounds. I actually started my first week of 21 Day Fix on a work trip in Las Vegas. It was living hell. Not only were there temptations at every corner, I was completely disgusted with how out of shape I was doing workouts. I was literally in tears every day for the first few weeks. The Challenge Group was run by my Coach Casey Walker, and Casey himself kept me on track. He told me just move, don’t skip a workout, and take your Shakeology everyday. I would have quit if it wasn’t for the group. When I finished my first 21 days and lost 21 pounds and 16 inches I was floored because I felt I was doing terrible. That moment just lit the fire and gave me confidence to keep going.

I chose 22 Minute Hard Corps because I was committed to several travel dates and I felt it would be hard to give the full attention and have access to weights to do Hammer and Chisel properly. I had already tried on demand on preview. I liked that the program was very challenging for the 22 minutes. I was able to modify difficulty and add tweaks to add in more complexity. So I would add more weight or I would do straight through with no breaks. The ab workouts, especially Spec Ops Core, is some of the hardest Beachbody has offered. It was a great follow on for the work I did with INSANITY MAX:30.

So here are cumulative stats for my four programs (most recently INSANITY MAX:30) and my month of using Shakeology when I was on restriction. 410 pounds to 234 pounds, to total 176 pounds lost! 75+ inches! Bodyfat % from 51% to 19%! My A1C improved! Triglycerides improved! I was also excited to have my abs come in more, but the coolest thing to do was to tear myself out of my comfort zone and do a Tough Mudder on May 6th with a group of guys including my accountability partner Doug. I was able to do the whole 11+ mile course attacking it the whole time. I was even able to run down some “youngsters”. It was awesome to see how relevant the exercises I did in MAX:30 and 22 Minute Hard Corps translated to the course. My cardiovascular fitness is through the roof now.

I am a new person! My posture is different, my attitude is different, my relationships are stronger, and my earning potential at work as increased significantly. I have also been given a platform to help others which has been a true blessing. The last couple of weeks have been surreal as I have been doing a lot of partner events with peers and sales people I had not seen in over 10 months, at least 10 people came by and asked if John still worked at Gigamon and didn’t even realize it was me. The others used words of profanity to describe their excitement. Most assumed I had done Gastric Bypass and when I told them diet and exercise they were stunned. Also during 22HC I got certified as an INSANITY instructor hoping to teach classes at local gyms. I am even scheduled for Country Heat certification at Summit which will be perfect as I complete Hammer and Chisel.

The Challenge Group was huge! We were all strangers but the support and positivity bonded all of us very quickly. Any moment I had a minute of self doubt about being able to do the program or if I wanted to skip a workout, people’s posts about doing their workouts kept me in check. We shared all the time, and it made doing the program very enjoyable. The Challenge Group also broke me out of my “lone wolf mentality” and allowed me to open up, share, and rely on others for support. I have formed a very special bound with one of my Challenge Group members, Doug. He is now my success partner working with me on combined challenge groups with over 40 people in them! We talk with each other everyday and I know if I even think about straying he is a call away. I participate in our Challenge Groups we run like it is my first Challenge Group to keep me honest and to model the appropriate behaviors to people new to their own journey

I think almost every other day I tell Casey Walker “thank you for saving my life!” That moment he said he believed in me changed me forever. He was always there for me and he was pushing me every day making sure I stay grounded in my journey. He even helped me regain my faith in God where I was recently baptized in January. I was even able to help him most recently when his Auto-Immune disease flared up again. I was there almost every day he was in hospital and it brought us even closer together. He thanks me, but I still tell him this is the least I can do; I was dead without him. He is just so genuine and so real, and he has a huge heart. I was also able to thank Casey and take him as my plus one to my Italy Top Sellers Club trip. It was awesome to let him do something he had never done before. We still talk or chat every day to push each other.

As mentioned previously Shakeology was so huge in curbing sugar and coffee cravings. It is well worth its price! It was a lynchpin in my eating strategy I don’t know what I would do without it. I have been using Beachbody Performance the whole time after 21 Day Fix, and I cannot say enough about the quality. All I can say is they flat out work, and I don’t know how I would have been able to attack the programs with a consistent intensity without them. I had not been using Creatine but am now using it at the start of Hammer and Chisel as I am more focused on shaping my body now that I am less then 20 pounds away from my goal weight.