Livin' the Dream!

This past Saturday, I co-hosted Super Saturday in Chicago with my friend @KatieChoudhary, and it was amazing!

As always, there were success stories (of physical, financial, and personal transformations) that were absolutely amazing.  I also shared my success story…  Which was fun!  I forgot some important things that I was hoping to say, and said there was crack in Shakeology (NOT TRUE) in front of the Senior Vice President of Global Sales of Beachbody, but it was fun! 

It was also amazing to see my team!  They are among the most positive people you will ever meet, and caring, kind, and fun to be around to boot! 

Here is a picture of us in front of the “Dream Big” balloons! 

My success partner and one of my leaders on my team (we’re the Honey Badgers) and I were on the same page mentally fashion-wise, so we thought we’d get on the floor senior picture-style and pose! 

But, here we are with Jeff Hill (that’s that Senior Vice President of Global Sales I was talking about!). 



And of course, I couldn’t NOT post a picture with the person responsible for my being a Beachbody coach, Katie!  She found me here on Tumblr and Twitter, and the rest is history!  Now there is not a day that goes by that we don’t text, talk, see each other, or HeyTell, and she’s like a sister to me!  Here we are with Jeff and the balloons! 

I CAN’T WAIT for the next Beachbody event!  I know that I will be getting together with our team (or at least members of it) before, but the next event is Summit, and I CAN’T WAIT!  A few days in Vegas with the happiest people in the world?  YES, PLEASE! 

If you want to be a part of this, let me know!  We’ll see if you’re Honey Badger material! 

xoxo, 

Mandie

Oh my gosh, in the last three weeks, I have had so many adventures!  I am going to sort of backtrack, and start with the most recent trip - my first-ever trip to Disney! 

As you know, I am a Beachbody coach.  One of my favorite things about being a Beachbody coach is that it’s the only business I know of where you are rewarded (and can’t be successful if you don’t) for helping people!  One such reward is the annual success club trip, and this year, it was to Disney World!  I only stayed for the conference, because I went by myself and stayed with my coach and her family…  I figure I’ll save my Disney tourism days for when I can take my own kids, once they exist - haha! 

I took an EARLY morning flight from Milwaukee…  And took this picture of Chicago from above.  Doesn’t it look cool? 

Once I landed, I took the “magical express,” which was a nice bus that Disney offers to their guests!  Then I found Katie, my coach, and we checked in.  Bonus - Beachbody gave us giftcards to cover our meals, park tickets, souvenirs, or whatever we wanted!  I had all I wanted to eat and drink, and still left with $75 of Disney Dollars that can be used at Disney World, online, or at the Disney Store!  Jackpot!  Here’s Katie, her son Anthony, and I at check-in! 

After this, we were off to the pool!  Instead of showing me in a bikini (we’re not ready for those pics to go public, haha!), I figure it best to show this cute little chameleon I found poolside.  

After the pool, we washed up and had dinner.  Here are Katie and I!  Since it was a buffet, I cheated a little bit and had some mashed potatoes! 

After dinner, which we should’ve skipped (I’ll tell you why in a mome), we went to the Beachbody welcome reception!  It was shipwreck-themed! Here’s a picture! 

I know… Event photography is not my strength!  Anyway, Beachbody knows how to treat their coaches!  They had all these buffets with amazing food (they said light fare…  They were underselling themselves.  It looked amazing, but I was full from dinner!), a few different bars, a couple DJs!  They also had the characters there for us to meet and take pictures with (most coaches brought their whole families, on Beachbody, so the kids were excited to meet their favorite characters)!  Here I am with Mickey and Minnie! 

And here is my team that was there with me, and Mickey and Minnie! 

I also took pictures with Donald & Goofy, as well as with Captain Hook!  Check those out on facebook if you’re that curious! 

We didn’t stay out too late, because we had a 6am workout date with Shaun T!  He is coming out with a new program that coaches can get in June, and that customers will be able to get in July.  It seems AWESOME!  I can’t wait!  

Anyway, here’s an awfully-taken picture of Shaun T on the stage.  It was so rad to work out in front of Epcot as the sun rose! 

And here’s a picture that Katie took of Adam and I mid-workout! 

Here we are after, once the sun rose! 

I love to run challenge groups, and part of what we do to motivate each other is take pictures of us with our sweaty mugs after we work out, or of us drinking our Shakeology to show we’re being accountable.  Here’s mine from that day (which will definitely be topped!). 

After this, I went back to the room and showered, and then headed to training!  The pictures aren’t super exciting, but we learned from the top ten coaches in Beachbody how to be better leaders for our teams and how to help more people.  We learned about news from the company from the CEO, VP of Sales, and a couple other corporate people.  We also learned about economics, the wellness industry vs. the sickness industry, and about being a better person in general from Paul Zane Pilzer and Chris Widener, who were the keynote speakers.  It was incredible beyond words, and left me so excited to help as many people as I can to get healthier and to end the trend of obesity! 

We had an hour lunch, which was great, because I got to sit on a little beach and enjoy the fact that I was not in the 22 degree weather I left behind in me in Wisconsin! 

After training, I had dinner again with Katie and her family, and then went back to the room to relax!  Once again, I had an early morning date with a workout - this time with Leandro!  The day before, we worked out with Leandro, too, and it was funny because Shaun T was first, and many of the guys left before Leandro started, but I am pretty sure I was more sore from Leandro’s workout than Shaun T’s!  Brazil Butt Lift is way harder than I expected it to be, and that’s a GREAT thing!  Leandro had us running in circles, and even up onto the stage! 

I certainly topped my previous morning’s sweaty mugshot…  Because I took a picture with Leandro!  Here I am with the butt master! 

He was so nice!  

After this, I showered and then packed my stuff and hopped on the magical express and flew back to Milwaukee!  I am already looking forward to my next Beachbody trip in June! 

Let me know if you want to join my team and have these amazing adventures with me! 

xoxo, 

Mandie

The perfect time to do a little blogging!  

Last I checked in, I was finishing the China Study (finally), getting ready to do my Primal Blueprint Fitness assessment, and getting quite amped up for Super Saturday.  

Since then, I completed the assessment (which was harder than I thought and will dictate some of my workouts for the next three weeks and maybe beyond), and then we spent a short but amazing time with Tommy’s family on Friday night, the night before Super Saturday.  Then finally, Saturday arrived!  It was wonderful to see my teammates that I don’t get to see enough!  Even better, there are new teammates added into the equation that I am sure are going to rock it!  After the event, we went out to eat to make a game plan on how we’re going to get ourselves on the SS Beachbody, a cruise that they’re giving to people who basically help at least 50 people achieve their goals!  I am SO going to be on that ship and can’t wait! 

Saturday night when we got back to Milwaukee, we went to a friend’s house and watched the Packers game, and then went home and to bed so that Tommy could get his sleep before his volleyball tournament, which was what we did on Sunday!  It went quite well, but not as well as the next one!  

Since then, I have been enjoying being on my own schedule as part of my daily routine - organizing my apartment, marketing myself as a model and makeup artist, and organizing my next two challenges - a 7-Day Shakeology challenge and a 30-Day Beachbody challenge.  

I have exciting stuff coming up, and will be back to blog about that then, but for now, how about some somewhat recent additions to my portfolio?  It has been a long time since I have updated my blog with those!  Yikes!  

xoxo,

Mandie

P.S.  I finally finished The China Study and am still digesting (no pun intended) the information.  I am now pretty far into the Primal Blueprint and read and finished Primal Blueprint Fitness!  =)

P.P.S.  Message me if you’re interested in either of my challenges.

P.P.P.S.  What are you currently reading?  

Happy 2013, four days late!  

This year, I can’t even count my new year’s resolutions.  There are so many!  However, I don’t see myself as being one of the 92% that doesn’t stick to them (yes, that is an actual figure, or so I’m told!).  Some of them may fade in and out (I am not great at getting >7hrs of sleep per night, I haven’t been stretching as much as I hoped, and I definitely didn’t maintain my “stay polished in public” rule when I went to Pancake House this morning and wore purple, green, and red all at the same time), but I plan on making more of a conscious effort this year every day to make myself a better person…  So while my list of areas of improvement is long, and every item on it might not get attention daily, I will continue to always strive toward better!  One of the things on the list is to blog more - not just have an instagram feed in several places, so here I am!

Last night, Tommy and I celebrated our 3rd anniversary.  It was wonderful!  We went to Mr. B’s Steakhouse, which was amazing, and then went and had a drink and some chocolate-covered strawberries at Blu, which overlooks Milwaukee and is GORGEOUS.  It’s funny, because there were two servers attending to us at Mr. B’s, and when Tommy and I went to pancake house (with him in his work clothes and me in my sloppy clown attire) we ended up seated directly next to the two servers from Mr. B’s last night!  It was hilarious, and kind of awkward when I heard them talking to each other about using their tip money from the night before to pay the bill today.  Had we known, we could’ve just said “Hey, we’ll just buy you brunch tomorrow!” 

I think it’s a sign that Tommy and I eat out together entirely too much, but that will change come Monday.  Monday is when I start my next Beachbody challenge group (message me if you’re interested) as well as when Tommy, some friends, and I start the 21-Day Primal Blueprint challenge.  We both have experience following the primal diet plan (him more strictly than I), but not as strictly as we will be starting Monday, and not with the other lifestyle aspects of Primal living as much.  I already downloaded f.lux to my computer, so it was fun to watch it change as I worked on it this afternoon!  

I am finishing up reading the China Study…  It’s a book about how harmful consuming an overabundance of animal protein is.  Between that and eating primally, I am starting to feel really guilty about the huge nutrition project that I did with all of my students my last year of teaching.  I told them to have six servings of the grain group per day.  WHAT?!  I am sure that following the food guide pyramid is still still better than what they ate before, but I still feel responsible for being tricked by the USDA’s food guide pyramid.  Yikes.  I am trying to think of a way to make up for it, perhaps as a way to finish my Master’s degree.  If you have ideas, let me know!

Well, I have a few more things on my “to-do” list before I head off to do the Primal Fitness Assessment and then down to the Chicago area for Super Saturday tomorrow - SO PUMPED!  I will write another personal blog in the next few days!  

xoxo,

Mandie

 P.S.  What do you have going on this weekend?

P.P.S.  Do you have any ideas for how I can right my nutrition instruction wrongs to get my Master’s degree in 2013?