Why in the Heck I am doing Body Beast

Why in the heck is a 41-year-old mom of two boys doing Body Beast? Great question…it took me  a while to get to an answer. You see, my adult life I’ve been fascinated with weight lifting, body building, and watching people change their shape. Since I found Beachbody in 2005, I’ve learned to push myself and see what I’m made of–time and again. After doing P90X, then ChaLEAN Extreme, then Turbo Fire (as well as “dabbling” in countless other programs along the way) one thing I know for sure: I can do more than I ever thought I could.

I’m good at self-doubt. An expert self-loather. That said, really getting serious about ME (both my mental and physical health) opened a LOT of doors in my mind. Whereas before the space in my brain was pretty dark–I’ve learned that I’m in control of the dimmer switch and can let some light in. Gradually over time, I’ve pushed myself out of my comfort zone time and a time and time and time again and live in a much sunnier space. These slight shifts-subtle changes over time–have given me a new spirit. A confidence I’ve never had before. Will I blow you away with my results? I dunno. But I’m gonna blow myself away with my efforts.

My biggest pending challenge will NOT be tossing the weights around.

It’s going to be…(click continue reading to keep going) eating enough clean fuel to promote the muscle growth. On that note (ladies), muscle burns more calories while you’re sitting at your PC reading this blog. We (especially women 30 and older) need muscle. Our metabolism doesn’t slow down cuz we are old–it slows down cuz we lose that glorious muscle we had in our youth. Want to fire that metabolism up again? Pick up a weight. A heavy one. Repeatedly. Anyhoo–I’m a lifelong meal skipper. It’s been one of my greatest challenges…eating enough calories. So, I’m expecting this to challenge me. I’ve got to hit around 3,000 calories a day according to the book–double what I typically eat. It’s a good thing I LOVE the menus in that book! They’re amazing!

Oh please…do not believe that myth that skipping meals helps you lose weight. lt doens’t. Skipping meals freaks your body out. It thinks you’re in Alaska in the peak of snow season stuck on the side of a road with no hope of eating again. Your body instinctively goes into survival mode and starts eating muscle–storing the fat so you can handle the sub zero temps while you run from the Yeti. That gorgeous lean smooth muscle–and your body canibilzes it; saving the ugly dimply squishy fat for later. Yeah, I’ll wait for you if you want to go grab a snack and come back to me.

Oh, and another thing…I don’t wanna get all manly, either.

Follow along on YouTube. Should be one heckuva ride!