Total Wellness Transformation: Hard Habits To Break

Welcome to Total Wellness Transformation: Diary Of A 50lb Weight Loss.

I'm seeing progress, slowly but surely. "Marathon, not a sprint" gets repeated in my head daily. I'm keeping focused and on track and the encouragement and comments here help me - a lot.

Like most people, I had developed habits over a period of time that were not doing me any good. But now, day by day, I am breaking those habits and replacing them with healthier ones. It's not easy, but I'm doing it for me - and I'm worth it.

Since this is about total wellness and improving overall quality of life, I'm working on forming better habits in all areas, such as:

Sleep:
I need to make sure I get enough sleep to give my body time to rest and repair, especially since it's getting back into the groove of working out. It helps me avoid aggravating old injuries or causing new ones. Plus, it makes me feel better to be able to wake up, tackle my workout and start my day without that dragging feeling. How did I ever get by on 5 hours of sleep (or sometimes less)?!?

Food/Fuel:
I've gotten into the habit of making sure I'm feeding and fueling my body on a regular basis. Shakeology for breakfast, some high protein snacks mid morning, a salad or Shakeology for lunch, another high protein snack and then a salad and lean protein for dinner. By giving my body fuel every few hours, it's changing my metabolism and kicking things into a different gear. Because I don't get hungry, I don't make poor food choices.

No Soda:
A few months ago, I decided that one of the first things I would do on this journey would be to give up soda - cold turkey. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but looking back, I probably consumed the equivalent of a 2 liter bottle of Diet Coke a day. I wanted to see what would happen if I quit. It wasn't easy avoiding temptation, but I did it. Haven't had it in months and rarely miss it. I recently went to a restaurant that my friend owns and my server automatically brought over a pint glass of Diet Coke. I had to tell him I was "off the stuff" and asked for a big ol' glass of water instead. The stunned look on his face gave me a little satisfaction. Sue me.

Hydrate!:
Having replaced diet soda with water has been amazing. My skin looks and feels better, I sleep better, I don't get cravings and it's just plain good for me. I drink plenty of water throughout the day and I like mine cold...and not just because it burns more calories. DRINK PLENTY OF WATER!

Supplements:
It's been awhile since I took any sort of multivitamin, but I've been using ActiVit Metabolism Formula, plus Joint Support and I can already feel a difference. I had to make it part of my morning ritual and take them with Shakeology and again on one of my afternoon water breaks. Between Shakeology and ActiVit, I know I'm giving my body nutrients, minerals and good stuff it's been craving and needing...and it's thanking me a little bit at a time.

Be Proactive:
To avoid the temptation of making an unhealthy food choice that may satisfy me in the moment, but that will ultimately leave me undernourished and unsatisfied, I make sure I've got healthy food in my fridge. It's always been easy to justify a bad choice by saying, "Oh, I don't have any food at home, I'll just drive through somewhere."

So I make sure I've got lean pork, beef and grilled chicken breasts on hand than can be prepared quickly and easily. Slice 'em up and throw them into a bag of salad. I will often cook on Sunday to have enough for dinner for the week. It helps keep me consistent and I'm not as susceptible to temptation. And I'm proud whenever I make better choices. It's the small victories that add up.

I look forward to forming even more healthy habits as this journey continues, but that's a taste of what's working for me now. Speaking of which...I'm down almost 5lbs. this week - that doesn't suck one bit! In fact I just celebrated with a frosty chocolate Shakelolgy to keep me on track while I go tackle the rest of the day! Thanks, Carl and Beachbody - I couldn't do it without you!

Until next time,

Hank

HOOP, There It Is!

You want to know who's taking it to the nets in the Coaches Vs. Corporate Basketball Tournament at The Success Club Leadership conference in Dallas? Here's the roster:




It's gonna be a blast!

Weekly WOWY Winners...It Pays To Get Fit - Literally!

Win money just for getting active? That's how we roll at Beachbody baby!!!

Congrats to the weekly WOWY-Super Gym Winners for 9/19 - 9/25:

9/19 Ellen Polk won $300

9/20 Kathy Draper won $1,000

9/21 Shirley Mickens won $300

9/22 Joselyn Cousins won $300

9/23 Robert Wickum won a Canon digital camera

9/24 Randi Munns won $300

9/25 Kimberly Tobey won an iPod Touch

These people signed in to the WOWY Super Gym to lose weight, get fit and find support - and they won prizes for doing it! Will you be the next winner? The only way to make sure is to log in... be there!

Total Wellness Transformation: Shakin' Things Up A Little

Welcome to the next installment of "Total Wellness Transformation: Diary Of A 50lb Weight Loss."

Thanks everyone for the show of support. It is true what they say about Team Beachbody! The support is what makes everything else work. Wait until you see what happened to me this week!

Like I said last week, I'm aware this is a marathon, not a sprint. It's gonna take time, effort and consistency. Which kind of stinks, because I'm the most impatient person I know. But things are not going to change overnight. This is a lifestyle change and ironically enough, one of the most profound changes I've made was also one of the easiest. I adopted the daily use of Shakeology®. I'm not a pitch man by any means but I will say this; it's already my secret weapon.

I have never been a breakfast person. Or a morning person, for that matter. Often, I would just start my day and go about my routine and then not even get around to eating until the middle of the afternoon when I realized I was starving. Of course, when this is the case, you rarely want the foods that are best for you, so you make unhealthy choices. Well, that was one of the first major changes I decided to make. So I started a new, healthy habit to help be break some long entrenched bad ones. I guess you could say I needed to shake things up a little - literally.

I have Shakeology in the morning so I can give my body the nutrients and fuel it needs. (I'm a Greenberry man, but am learning to appreciate Chocolate, as well.) Now, I "drink" my breakfast and I don't have that crash that causes the cravings that lead to such poor food choices. If it's a really busy day, I'll have another Shakeology for lunch so I can power through.

After using it regularly, I noticed subtle differences. I started feeling more alert in the morning, not so sluggish. I had more energy. I just felt better. I realized that for years, I had not been giving my body the fuel that it desperately needed. Basically, I was getting in the car and flooring it, even though there was very little fuel in the tank.

I had to go to a conference recently and I took Ziploc bags of Shakeology and my shaker cup so I could make it in my hotel room. While everyone else was lining up at Starbucks, bleary-eyed in need of their morning fix, I was drinking my shake as I ran to my morning sessions. And I felt good about it.

The rare days when I don't have it or I run out, I find myself craving it. My body is used to getting all the good stuff. Plus, it makes things a heck of a lot easier. It saves time. I don't have to think about what to eat and I am less likely to make a poor choice. Water, ice, a scoop of powder - done.

It's working, because by doing some cardio 5 days a week and some light resistance training and combining that with healthier eating habits and Shakeology, I'm already seeing success...I'm down 6.6 pounds. Time to celebrate with some Greenberry!

Until next time,
Hank

My Dinner With Obama

Well, to be honest, it was supposed to be dinner. But I will get to that in a minute.

I don't bring my politics to this blog unless it coincides with our goal of Helping People Achieve Their Goals To Lead Healthy Fulfilling Lives. But I do want to describe how in one evening I got complete validation that this little business Jon and I started 12 years ago has now evolved from start-up to being worthy of the White House.

Last night we attended an event put on in Philadelphia by the Democratic National Committee featuring a visit with President Obama. Clearly, this was about fundraising, but it was also an opportunity to meet the President and perhaps open some doors.

Jon and I were invited to the event by two attorney-friends from the firm Cozen O'Conner, Mark Alderman who was co-hosting the event, and my long time friend Michael Heller. We got there a half hour early and got coached on "positioning" in the room - literally - how to be at the right place at the right time to not just shake the President's hand, but actually get talk-time.

Time crawled by and the strategy of room-positioning intensified as we saw the security detail move into place. Mark was co-host so he clearly had a right to the first position in the room, but for Jon, Michael and I, it was "block or be blocked". For the next twenty minutes 15 VIP guests tried to subtly jockey to be first. It was "game on", and our intent to be first intensified...

Michael squared up to the left of Jon to block anyone from crossing along the top of the room, while Jon used his giant wingspan to close off the middle. I stood to his right keeping traffic from passing between me and a large table protecting my flank. We looked like we had it nailed, until one guy circled below the tables on an end run. Disaster. Then luckily, they changed doors for the President's entrance, and our position favored the new location. it pays to be lucky.

This is quite literally how the event started, with adults shifting position, eyeing each other up, and Michael and I red-faced with laughter as we urged each other to "box out" the competition. Politics is not pretty people!

At once the door swung open, and in walked Obama. He gave a quick hello and a hug to Mark and then he walked straight up to Jon who said "Hello Mr. President we're the co-founders of Beachbody - This is Carl Daikeler. You might know our products like P90X."

With that Obama moves in and grabs my hand in a handshake and says "P90X! My wife does that. Man, I can hardly keep up with her!"

Did you ever see a fight scene in "The Matrix" when all time and motion come to a stop? That's what happened to me right then as what he said sank into my mind. "The President of the United States just told me that the First Lady was using a product that I came up with one day when I was thumbing through fitness publications at a magazine rack in 2002. The President. His wife does P90X."

In a blink, time returned to normal and I seized the opportunity to cram my entire agenda into one comment; "We've heard a lot of people in the White House are using the program, and we're all really proud of the work the First Lady is doing with the Let's Move campaign in fact we think that to really turn around childhood obesity it's critical that the parents are the example (BREATH) that's what's so impressive about what she's doing because she's a role model that hard work of real fitness is worth it and we'd love to talk to you both sometime about what we're doing with Team Beachbody which is really changing the health and fitness model and is getting more parents accountable (BREATH) which is showing the kids that fitness is not just something we're SAYING is important it's something we're SHOWING them is important by taking on."

Then the President interrupts me and says "I totally agree. We definitely want to hear more about what you are doing - and I mean that." He turns to his entourage and says "Let's make sure of that ok guys? I want to make sure we follow up and connect with them to hear what these guys are doing."

The President turns back toward Jon and I and says "Hey you two guys look like you're in good shape, I guess you know what you're doing!" At which point Michael breaks in and says "Why didn't you say that when you looked at me?" which drew a big laugh from the entire party. Attorneys always get the laugh.

With that I got an "attaboy!" slap on the arm from the President as he walked by and the next wave of hand shakes reached in.

Jon and I looked at each other in disbelief. "Did that just happen?" It was as if we threaded a needle as it ran by, surrounded by press and donors. "Yes, that really. did. happen."

Mark Alderman then stepped in and said "I heard what the President said, so let's lock this in guys" at which point we walked over to the President's two "body men" to give them our business cards, only to learn that one of them also had just completed a few weeks of P90X, and that- in their words - "the entire White House is using P90X."

A few minutes later we went into a room for photos. As my turn approached, the person across from the President whispered something, and the President says "I know these guys, come in here and let's get a picture guys." I took one, then Jon.

A little later, the President gave a brief speech, which was refreshingly similar to the message we ascribe to at Beachbody; That the mess we got into took a long time and a series of complex decisions and circumstances in order to materialize. It's taking hard work, sacrifice and persistence to turn things around, and every bit of progress is easy to second guess because it's easy to forget how bad things had gotten and how close we were to total collapse of the system. People needed to take action and they did. But the work is not over. We still must have a plan, and we must not make the same mistakes that got us where we are today.

I was gratified to hear the President re-emphasize the importance of solving the health care crisis as the number one lever for cutting the deficit. It is not lost on me that Team Beachbody has the potential to make more of an impact on that than any other force in the country. And of all the things that made me proud at that event, that makes me the most proud. I truly believe that. No other business model has such a radical potential to turn things around. It's not going to be easy. But we knew that. We all signed up to take this on, to make a difference, and we know we're a long way from success. We have to stay committed and we have to stay focused on what we know works.

With some closing remarks and a standing ovation the President left before dinner was served to return to Washington, and Michael, Jon and I ducked out to catch the rest of the Phillies vs. Atlanta game.

Footnote: To top it all off, while at the baseball game I got a text from an industry friend who said she was attending a trade-group board dinner. One of the board members, an executive at one of our competitors, broke out a mini-blender during the meeting, plugged it into the wall, and mixed himself a batch of Shakeology.

Things are happening. People appreciate the real thing. Word is getting out there about Team Beachbody, because we refuse to give up. We know we have the solution, and we know it's worth the effort to share these tools with everyone we meet.

Thank you for never giving up!

We Need 15 Coaches Now! It's Coaches Vs. Corporate On The Courts In Dallas!

Are you attending the Success Club Leadership Conference in Dallas next month? How's your dunk shot?

Well, if you think you've got the skills and you want to bring them to the basketball court and prove it, then you don't want to miss the chance to take on me and the Team Beachbody folks from Corporate in the Coaches vs. Corporate Basketball Tournament!

The first 15 Coaches to R.S.V.P. and sign up are in! We have limited time and limited space, so get on the court or stay in the bleachers!

R.S.V.P. NOW to ebrule@beachbody.com and get ready to make your hoop dreams a reality!

Stay tuned for more info...

Weekly WOWY Winners

Congrats to the Weekly WOWY Winners for 9/12 thru 9/18!

9/12 Jason Golf won $300

9/13 Dan Finerty won an iPod Touch

9/14 Carin Adams won $300

9/15 Kimberly Watson won $1,000

9/16 Scott Shoup won $300

9/17 Siobahn Farr won a Canon digital camera

9/18 Kayla hill won $300

These people signed into WOWY to lose weight, get fit and find support - and they won these great prizes for doing it! Will you be the next winner? The only way to make sure is to log into WOWY every day...

Total Wellness Transformation: The First Step...

Welcome to "Total Wellness Transformation: Diary Of A 50lb Weight Loss."

Carl has asked me to be a frequent guest blogger and chronicle my journey to improved overall health, which will include losing 50lbs within the next 12 months.

My name is Henry (you can call me Hank) and I’m just a regular guy in his 30's who wants to live, feel and look better.

Beachbody's stated core purpose is to “Help people achieve their goals and enjoy a healthy, fulfilling life.” That means I am at the right place at the right time, surrounded by great resources to get on the right track. That also means that I might be able to rely on you, the reader, to give me comments and support as I embark on my public - but anonymous - journey.

I suppose I have the same struggles as you; finding balance between work and home, finding time for family and friends, finding motivation and the big one - avoiding long entrenched habits and the temptation of the short term gratification those habits offer.

In my blog posts, I’ll talk about milestones and setbacks, what changes I’m making, what works and what doesn’t. The highs and the lows…all on the road to total wellness and improved health.

I appreciate the opportunity to show Carl what role his company plays in my success. I also look forward to demonstrating in real terms what it takes to overcome a lifestyle that has led to a starting point of 376 lbs. I hope Carl and our Coaches can benefit from my journey.

I’ve struggled to change my thinking, to approach things differently and remind myself that this isn't going to happen overnight. I want to do this the right way, the smart way. For me, this isn’t about any fad diet, super Product or miracle workout – this is about a lifestyle change.

The whole point is to improve my overall quality of life, so learning to make smarter choices along the way is part of my journey. They say the journey of a lifetime begins with one step. So, here goes…step.

Our Beachbody VIP Concierge...At Your Service!

There's someone special I'd like you to meet who we are testing for a trial basis. This is Trevor - the Beachbody VIP Concierge!

















After training (albeit briefly) under some of the finest concierges at some of the finest luxury hotels in Europe, Trevor decided to pursue something a little less lofty that required less focus and skills and was more in tune with his desire to help real people in real life. So he moved to sunny Southern California. Oh wait.

After short-lived stints as retail greeter, movie theatre usher and puppeteer, Trevor wanted a job where he could use his skill(s) to the fullest potential. (Plus, he really wanted an official blazer and walkie-talkie.)

So we decided to give him a try at serving our community with easy access to people-in-the-know. See, he's really a people person at heart - making him a natural fit with our People Helping People concept. He is excited to be at Beachbody and hopes he will succeed at this new job. Trevor is at your service and ready to help. During his trial period, he is here to:

• Field specific questions and make sure they get to the right person or department
  
• Gather your feedback on anything Beachbody
• Ensure follow-up to make sure our Customers and Coaches receive the World-Class Service they deserve

If you want to reach someone or get an answer, simply email Trevor at concierge@beachbody.com and let him know what type of help you need.

What's Beachbody About?

This email was sent to all Beachbody employees. Whether you are already a coach, a customer considering it, or a person wondering what Beachbody is about, this is it:

Good morning Beachbody!

If you are wondering what the focus of all this work is, now is a good time to look at the mission statement as we push into a major phase of growth: Help People Achieve Their Goals to Lead Healthy Fulfilling Lives.

Our rapid growth is directly related to expanding the force of those focused on our mission.

We help people in many ways, but mostly it’s:
(1) providing products and peer-support that is helping people get healthy and fit
(2) providing products that are helping people achieve/maintain healthy skin without applying ingredients with serious health consequences
(3) providing a system by which we are helping people achieve financial independence
(4) providing a structure in which we are helping our fellow “Dudes” achieve their career goals (like by giving them candid and productive feedback in the 360 evaluations)
(5) taking action and giving money to help people in need get access to clean water, plus other “Beachbody Acts Of Kindness”

Right now we have 321 employees who are a thriving part of this force of People Helping People Achieve Their Goals to Lead Healthy Fulfilling Lives.

We have 31,178 coaches doing the same.

That makes a total of 31,499 People Helping People. Check that out!

My goal for our business is one million people helping 100 million people.
I will be providing updated totals weekly (at least).

I will also be refocusing much of my efforts on building those numbers specifically and directly. I will be revisiting objectives and investment in new initiatives based on how they contribute to that specific objective.

I look forward to you taking at look at your specific role within the company, and how you can manage your efforts to help us add and retain coaches as well.

A force of people-helping-people is a pretty exciting thing to build and be a part of. It’s not a slogan to me, this is for real. This is the basis for decisions I make for this company. I appreciate your initiative to improve everything we do, and your passion, enthusiasm, and common sense to make it a reality with real critical mass!

Carl

Expanding The Model

The network marketing model which Team Beachbody uses is doing amazing things, by giving the people who work hard getting healthy and fit the reward and incentive for sharing these solutions with people around them.

30,000+ coaches strong, two dynamics are happening right now which have us wide-eyed at the office; (1) We're starting to hear and see signs that coaches are "loading in" friends and family who see the tipping point coming, and (2) all indications are that the wave of interest and sales coming this first quarter will dwarf projections. In short; A REAL WAVE OF DEMAND IS COMING!

And now this experience of building a network marketing business and my conversations with the guys at Raincatchers has evolved into seeing how we can use this concept of people paying their success forward to expand on how they go about installing their water delivery systems.

Here is a conversation I had with RainCatcher CEO Mark Armfield. It shows how the money we give will be deployed in the near term.



But now we've already expanded on the concept. Instead of simply giving the water tank and rain catcher system to the schools, we are going to develop a curriculum around the installation. The kids will learn about the value of water, the consequences of wasting water and consuming dirty water, and they will learn about the value of helping others catch the water to create wide-spread sustainability.

We're not sure how to measure it yet, but we want to give the recipients of this water system an incentive to help install the next raincatcher system at two more locations. Sound familiar?... Paying it forward.

The goal here is similar to the way Beachbody programs work. There is no "gift" of health and fitness. It is earned through work, discipline and a good plan. The same will go for the expansion of our Raincatcher activities. The recipient will be as responsible for the installation as the people helping make it happen. And as we gain momentum within Team Beachbody, we're hoping this same concept gains momentum in East Africa and around the world!

The Official Results Are...

Wow, what a race! These are the official results, the official Top 10 and the coaches I'll be visiting in October:

First Name	Last Name	City	State	Total SC Points	Rank
Dianna	Jackson	Highland	UT	102	1
Terrell	Murphy	Huntersville	NC	32	2
Hillary	Kelly	New Preston	CT	29	3
Blake	Warrington	Star	ID	27	4
Thomas	Mygrant	Bellevue	OH	27	5
Jason	Scheff	Franklin	TN	26	6
Barbara	Decker	Dallas	TX	26	7
Josh	Spencer	Bolivar	OH	26	8
Maria	Cappa	Smithtown	NY	24	9
Mindy	Wender	Kingsford	MI	24	10

We will contact the winners to discuss schedules and arrangements.

Our crew will have around 7 people, so hopefully you have enough beds for us. HA! Kidding.

We'll be flying in and flying out - but during the stop I will be looking to accomplish three things:

(1) I get to interview you so we come away with ten minutes of material that we will produce into a 3rd party tool for you to use. Simple question and answer format - a conversation between you and me.
(2) The producer of our revised "Team Beachbody Infomercial" will interview you so we have more material for our upcoming relaunch of the coach infomercial promotion.
(3) I want to hold a half hour "Town Hall" with your 5 or so local leaders to answer questions, do a little training, and build even more momentum as we launch into the fall that will position your team for the explosion we are expecting in the first quarter!

Details to follow as the team gets in touch with our winners for arrangements.

Labor Day Perspective

I just wrote this for a woman who is doing a Labor Day radio show and wanted my perspective on being self-employed and network marketing vs. having a job. This will also be the focus of my part of the National Call tomorrow, but I thought it was worth posting here for your consideration:

Being "Self employed" is another way of saying "applying the most valuable resource you have - your time - at doing something which not only can generate cash flow (salary) but which also builds residual value (equity aka ownership)."

Think of it in terms of renting a house vs. buying a house.

Having a job which pays you a salary is like renting an income. You get to stay there with no risk except that someday you could lose the job. But as long as you pay rent ("work") you continue to get the salary ("shelter").

The rent you pay is work, which contributes value to the business, but you never know how long you'll have that job. When it's done, it's done with no residual value to tap into. All the contribution you made stays with the company. Just as if you tended to the lawn and gardens and household improvements while renting a house. Once you leave, you leave the value of those improvements behind. The only value you got out of your rent was the temporary benefit during your lease.

Self employment, which is basically the same as business ownership, means every bit of effort you put toward excelling and improving your business is both of service to your customers while it builds value for you in the business. Every bit of effort can bring cash flow (salary) and underlying value. But it does come with risk and additional headaches, just like owning a home does.

It's not easy for a business to get off the ground much less compete to grow. It's quite possible to get wiped out. That's why so many people intent on owning a business opt to buy a franchise business because there's both demonstrated demand and a business plan to follow. Still expensive and risky, but less risk than starting with an all-new idea in an unproven business.

Network marketing is similar to a franchise in that there is a system to use, demonstrated demand for a product, but it is far less capital intensive. For less than a couple hundred dollars a month plus your focused effort, you are building cash flow and that residual value of ownership. I've noticed that a person's network marketing business actually has real ownership value once it gets momentum. Like any company, that is value that can later be sold, or donated, or willed to heirs, or just used for its remaining cash-flow if you decide to do something else. Like any business it has to get strong traction before it has that value, and that requires work, persistence and the desire to overcome obstacles. But once it has traction, there is real value there, and it's all yours!

When I look at how there are over ten coaches who have already built million dollar income streams with Team Beachbody I am impressed. But look deeper, and you can see that they and many others have also built underlying value in excess of a million dollars if someone wanted to buy them out. That's pretty incredible since getting started cost a whopping $39.95 plus the ongoing costs of staying active in the business. Still less than any franchise or other prospective business venture, with a demonstrated demand and system for success called the Game Plan. The risk, is time and fortitude. And those commodities are available to anyone who makes the decision and commitment to go for it.

So as you celebrate Labor Day, don't just be grateful for the workers that keep everything running. This Labor Day, consider how every conversation you have with a person who is now "renting" their salary, can lead to helping them also "build a second income without a second job" and also build underlying value that is ALL THEIRS.

Home ownership is only a part of the American Dream. Financial independence is the real goal. That usually comes from ownership. And the first step of business ownership is as simple as starting a Team Beachbody business and working the Game Plan.