Trust Me - It Ain't Worth It

So far, I have done three programs and gotten a few supplements from BeachBody.com. I ordered all of my workout programs, Slim in 6, P90X and Insanity directly from the website. I paid full price for them, got my deliveries within a week of ordering with everything that I needed for each workout. My DVDs are all functional and have given me no trouble. Were some of the things I got a little pricey? Yes. Absolutely. But to me - it's worth it. Losing weight is a big priority for me, so I'm willing to make investments where needed. I literally had to save up money from a couple of paychecks to get some stuff - but I haven't been disappointed. I like getting the full fitness and nutrition guide books and also having the support of Beach Body.

I can totally understand and appreciate that there are some people out there who are not willing to make the same kind of investment. Some of the programs may be a little more than you can/are willing to invest in at this time. Now, my intent is not to offend ANYONE. But as per usual, if you take offense to what I say - then you're taking that on yourself, and you probably wouldn't be offended if I wasn't right - so that's really your issue. But just let me explain what could happen if you decide to go twenty bucks cheaper and get the programs somewhere else.

If you find it cheaper than the Beach Body website, it's illegal. Period. Amazon is licensed to sell Beach Body products, but it's more expensive there AND does not carry the Beach Body guarantees. DVD skipping? Take it up with Amazon. 90 day money back guarantee? Amazon doesn't offer that. Bought it from an Amazon e-store or e-bay? You're screwed - neither Amazon nor Beach Body can help you.

I'm not sure who else is a licensed retailer, but rest assured if it's cheaper - it's not licensed. Yes, they are very good copies. They look just like the real thing. If they can duplicate an iphone that's not really an iphone, I'm sure that DVDs and books are not really a big challenge. And perhaps the pirated copy you receive will work fine, I can't really say. I'm just saying that I have heard TONS of complaints from people who received a faulty product that they could not return or get help with because they decided to risk problems buying an illegal copy. Now which one of us wasted their money? Honestly, I'll pay the extra bucks just to know that A)my DVDs won't skip or be missing B)if they do, they'll be replaced and C)my products will stand the test of time and I can re-use them.

I just find it baffling how many people say they care about their fitness and really wanna lose weight, but "oh, I can't afford that". Really? Cuz I certainly saw you afford that last cheesesteak and fries you ate and that night out at the bar. If you stopped spending so much money on being un-healthy, you'd have plenty left over to get fit. Sorry if that sounds harsh, but I work too hard to sugar coat it for you. If you wanna get fit, you'll do it. If you don't, you'll make excuses.

xoxo,
Sweet Charity

Still Fighting It

I have been overweight my entire life. I was a chubby child, a fat teenager and an even fatter young adult. It bothered me a little bit when I was young, a lot more when I was a teenager, and finally became unacceptable when I hit college. I started working out and dieting. In the begining it was easier. When you first start working out, the weight drops off like "that"! (See: Biggest Loser) It's when you've been doing it for several years and your body adjusts that it gets a little more complicated.

In recent years, it has been next to impossible for me to drop pounds. I would kill myself with cardio at the gym. Hit the gym twice a day, eat minimally and then - only eating fruits, veggies, fish and chicken. All of this and nothing has given me the results I'm looking for. Now, staring down my 30th birthday on the horizon, I refuse to not reach my weight loss goal by that birthday. It's ridiculous and unfair how hard I have to work to acheive what seems to come easier to other people, but those are the breaks. That's just the way it is. My only other option is to stop trying, and I just don't consider that an option. I know I can reach my weight loss goal, I just have to keep going.

I'm currently doing a workout program called P90X. You may have seen the infomercial for it. It's a workout-at-home program that utilizes weights and a push up bar to get you in great shape in 90 days. This is my second time through the program. I did the full 90 days already. I didn't see the results that I wanted, but it is a fitness program and not a weight loss program. For people who have weight to lose, it may take more than one round to see results. It was nice to see that one of the guys in the infomercial actually went through 5 rounds before he got a killer bod. I just really need to see some results soon or I will lose my mind. I don't know what else to do to lose these pounds. They say the last ten to fifteen are the hardest and man they ain't lying.

I'll keep you posted on how this round is going. In addition to the regular workouts, I'm also doing another program from Beach Body (the same company that makes P90X). The other program is Slim in 6, which is supposed to help you slim down in 6 weeks. I also did this program already and lost a few pounds. I'm hoping that combining the two will give me some stellar progress.

Wish me luck ;)

xoxo,
Sweet Charity

Week 3 - I thought I was tired of Tony Horton, but Debbie Siebers is an evil mastermind

So I'm definitely starting to feel like all this working out might start working for me again. I've added in an additional cardio workout on some days along with doing P90X lean. It's another program called Slim in 6. For some reason, I always think that the Si6 workout won't be as hard as the X one. Perhaps because the X is so heavily emphasized as one of the hardest workouts, it seems like anything else would be a cake walk. And Debbie Siebers with her cute little body and big, welcoming smile and moves that look pretty easy - well, she can't be that bad, right? I don't know how I always manage to forget just how much cardio those workouts are. They LOOK easy. It doesn't seem that my heart-rate should be as high for the moves that seem so simple, but in reality - she's kicking my ass. And my sides. And my abs. As is evident from the body soreness that follows in the days after. I like the soreness - because it means I actually worked hard, but in the moment - I kind of want to punch her in her smiling face.

My diet is gradually getting better and better. I've had my meals prepared ahead of time all week long. There's just a couple more things that I need to filter out, which will happen as I run out of supply of them. My struggle this week (and always) is looking at other people's results and being insanely jealous. Why can't I be where they are right now? Well, it takes time. It sucks, but that's just the way it is. People with rockin' bodies didn't get them in 4 weeks. You have to get there by several months and maybe years of commitment to a goal and focus on getting it. I didn't go from eating fatty and fast foods often to eating high fiber, low calorie stuff in one day. I used to be able to down a 20-piece chicken Mcnugget and a large fry in one sitting, no joke. Now - a six piece and medium fry would be plenty. It took steps to get to this point. So I'm still taking the steps it will take to get me to the next level in my fitness. So you can't beat yourself up if you missed a workout, or if you allowed yourself that hamburger. My diet is not going to be 100% perfect as of tomorrow - but it's definitely something I can keep working on as I push toward my goal.