Hahaha, this cracked me up! Can we change it so that it says “Shakeology?”
xoxo,
Mandie
One of the things that I struggle most with in trying to be happy is comparison. I spend WAY too much time comparing things in my life to things in others’ lives. One thing I fail to remember, though, is that everyone is at a different stage in their life, so someone who may be more successful than me in some area might have been working on that specific thing for longer, or may be doing less other things. It’s not a race, and the only person I should compare myself to is who I was yesterday. I hope this makes you think and practice the same thing! And if we’re friends… And you see me comparing myself… Please remind me of this!
xoxo,
Mandie
(via healthy-sexy-happy)
Beachbody Invades the House of Mouse!
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
YES! MAKE YOURSELF PROUD!
(via strangestthing)
This is my stepdad, Marv, and here’s a little story my mom wrote to me about him!
He went to the Dr. because we thought he had Parkinson’s because his hands were shaking so badly. He was told he had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and he needed to lose 30 pounds.
He got medication for both and was told that would maybe help the shaking. He also started to do some weight lifting with light weights, lots of reps. After 4 months, no change.
He started the Shakeology on Monday and by Wednesday he noticed the difference. Hardly any shaking at all. By Friday he was so impressed that he wanted to see if I would notice. He poured us each a shot, handed me mine and drank his without spilling a drop. I noticed the change immediately. Wow! A week before he would have spilled it all over.
We aren’t sure how it worked but he is taking it to his Dr. at the end of the month and telling him how great it worked. By the way, he lost 5 pounds in as many days.
My mom said that we should call Shakeology “anti-Shakeology” since it stopped Marv’s shaking!
Anyway, I am hosting a 7-Day Shakeology challenge. Let me know if you’re interested in giving it a shot (pun not intended!).
You can send me a message via the contact form on my website if you don’t know me personally!
xoxo,
Mandie
New Adventure!
Hello, all!
I have been working on this a while, and am just now spreading the news!
A friend of mine has asked me to be his “right hand Mandie” for a new project that we are both really excited about, which is a Smoothie Cafe in Milwaukee!
I will keep you posted as things come into fruition (should be opened in early-to-mid April for the first location), but you can also keep up with us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, or all three! Please give us a “like” or “follow!” =)
xoxo,
Mandie
Want abs like @ChaleneJohnson? Yeah, me too! I don’t blame you. Click the photo to go see her tips on how to get them!
xoxo,
Mandie
New Year, New Commitment to Blogging
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?
Oh man, the other day, I was doing Cardio Recovery (Insanity), and realized that I had been so caught up in the routine of making sure I get my workout in daily that I had ALMOST forgotten that I was doing something great for myself every time I do it. I was standing on one leg in my livingroom, thinking to myself “I am now improving my balance so that if I keep this up forever, which I plan to, I won’t be the old lady who falls and breaks a hip!” I don’t care what workout you do, but do something good for yourself today!
xoxo,
Mandie
(via fitaficionada)
If you were ever curious about what the Beachbody Ultimate Reset is like, here’s a video that covers days six and seven! Days 1-5 are on the previous videos, of course! =)
xoxo,
Mandie
