Goat in Sheep's Clothing

So, you signed up for a Beachbody Challenge Group and man OH man you were excited (but nervous) to get started! You were all in! This was the time that you were really going to make a change and it was going to stick! So here’s what happened. Some of you started out strong, fell apart in the middle and finished strong. Some of you paid for the program and didn’t really start at all. Some of you were freaking rock stars. Some of you did your best given the unexpected life circumstances you got thrown at you. And you know what, there is no right answer here. Because only you know you and only you know your life.

It’s really interesting watching people go through the Challenge Groups from a coaches perspective. I’m glad that I was a Weight Watchers leader before I started Beachbody. Because I experienced firsthand the stopping and starting turmoil that comes with a weight loss program. People came and people went in the Weight Watchers meeting rooms. Some people came back and some people I never saw again. I always wondered what happened to them and did they continue their wellness journeys.

A few months back I was listening to Beachbody’s CEO speak and he talked about the mission of a coach. That as coaches we need to stick with our Challengers to get them to their goal and beyond. That Beachbody is not just about selling products or signing someone up for a challenge, it’s about helping people get healthy, even when they don’t believe in themselves.

As a Beachbody coach, my husband likens me to a shepherd. I really do love my flock and I want them all to be their own definitions of success. And I want to guide them toward their goals. As a person who has tried and failed, and tried and succeeded to lose weight over the last 21 years- sometimes we are sheep and sometimes we are goats.

Have you ever been around a goat? Growing up we had goats. Goats can be so darned cute but so darned stubborn. Goats can be a menace to themselves. They’ll eat anything even if it’s bad for them. They’ll run through an electric fence even though it hurts, heck they’ll gnaw through a barbed wire fence. Our goat Buttonwood, she’d climb on the top of our cars and do a little prance when she got to the top like “heh-heh you can’t stop me.” And we do that sometimes as Challengers. We begin to self-destruct. We experience success and then fear. And that fear sometimes has us running in the opposite direction of our goals. I KNOW this. I have stopped and started “diets” and wellness programs a gazillion times. Every year for Christmas or my birthday I buy a new exercise program or piece of equipment. I’m enamored with it for a while and then it begins to gather dust.

So here’s the real deal. As Beachbody coaches, we can only get you so far. You have to want to get there and to have a vision for where you want to go. The challenge is yours, the choice to change is yours. We can’t make that choice for you. It’s up to you to figure out what you want, to get your mind right and to let us know what you need. And if you’re not sure what you need, tell us that and we can work together to come up with some strategies to help you succeed. Chalene Johnson has a great podcast on motivation. She talks about the fact that motivation doesn’t last forever but habits and discipline do. That is IT right there! Heck my motivation comes and goes depending on my day. But the habits that I’ve created, they will help to get me through the days when I just don’t feel like it. One of my favorite sayings is “when motivation wanes, let perseverance and consistency reign.”

Beachbody has helped me to develop consistent behaviors even when I’m being a goat in sheep’s clothing. And for me, those behaviors are reinforced through Challenge Groups. If a Challenge Group is not for you (I get it, they’re not for everyone) or if you’re burned out, and you’re a sheep that’s lost its way- please reach out to your coach to develop a plan to get you to your goals.

While I can’t speak for your Beachbody coach, I can say that most coaches I’ve met have the best of intentions. But we’re just people, who are also struggling with our own behaviors. Sometimes we’re on it and sometimes we’re not. We have our demons, our insecurities, our good and bad days. It might appear that we have our shit together, but there are times that we don’t. Sometimes we’re shepherds, sometimes we’re sheep and sometimes we’re goats. This is why it’s so important to keep it real and to stay in community with each other.

We fall and we rise together.

Commit to the choice. Ask for help. Continue with courage.  

Hugs and friendship,

Tara

November to Remember

I almost titled this one a November to Forget because as far as months go, I’m glad to move on from this one. Anyone who knows me knows, I’m always working on a plan or driving toward a goal. Perhaps it’s the Type A in me, but I like to believe that I’m mellowing as I age. My husband is reading this and laughing. OK, I’m somewhat intense. I like to be moving purposefully toward something. That doesn’t mean that I’m not grateful for the present, I work very hard to keep my mind present focused.

The month of November was going to be my breakout Beachbody program month. Oh yes it was. Insert the hallelujah chorus here. I had been anticipated the Core De Force workouts since the first sneak peek. Dating back to Tae-Bo (remember that one), I’ve enjoyed kicking and punching my way into fitness and I know it works, especially the core. So I jumped into the Core De Force workouts with vigor and eagerness. I knew, I just KNEW that this program was going to be my jam! And as my heart pumped and my enthusiasm soared, my right knee said- hells no. Sigh. Joy sucker.

I’ve been struggling with a knee injury since last spring, after 2 rounds of physical therapy and rest (only working my upper body and abs) I was feeling good enough to give this new program a try. But my knee doth protest. So I found myself visiting an orthopedist, getting x-rays and an MRI to see what the deal was. After ruling out a torn meniscus, I was treated with a cortisone shot for inflammation and we’re going to regroup in a month.

Now I don’t want to sound like a Whiny McWhinerson here but…whiiiiiiiiiiine! My vision of transforming my body using Core De Force…went to the shitter. (I try not to curse in my posts but sometimes it’s just needed). To add insult to injury, I’m in a Core De Force challenge group seeing how much fun people are having and how hard they’re working and what they get to do and I don’t.  I could be all woes me but I have to say that being in a Beachbody challenge group, being a part of Beachbody in general, it’s what keeps me healthy and focused, especially during the times when I can’t work at full capacity. The other day, one of my fellow coaches posted about just giving 1% more each day. That has really stuck with me. We all have our limits, both emotional and physical. Self-doubt, eating disorders, limiting beliefs, injuries, illness, family constraints, time constraints. But there’s something really incredible, really special that happens when someone believes in you, you begin to believe in yourself. And you start to focus on what you CAN do and forget about what you can’t.

My Beachbody family, they care about and encourage me. Most of these folks I’ve never met in person, but we’ve forged this kinship that comes from struggling and succeeding together. I have to say that the Tara of years ago would have just given up. I would have just given in and fallen back into my all or nothing mentality, well if I can’t workout at full force, then I’m not going to workout at all. And if I can’t workout at all, why freaking bother with my eating? I mean seriously. Those would have been my thoughts.

This new Tara, she knows that it’s more important than ever to focus on my nutrition. To control what I can control. To make the most of my present circumstance. So tomorrow I start ChaLEAN Extreme. I believe that I should be able to do the strength training for the most part with my knee. I’ll do what I can because I can. I’ll do what I can because people believe in me. I’ll do what I can because I believe in myself. I’ll give my 1% more and then some because I can. Because I’m still here, because I woke up today with another shot at this beautiful thing we call life. And I’ll call this a November to Remember because I didn’t give up. Instead of looking at what I can’t do, I am focusing on what I can.

Commit to the choice. Ask for help. Continue with courage.  

Hugs and friendship,

Tara