What the heck is Shakeology?

Hey everyone! I made another vlog to let you know a little more about how awesome Shakeology is!

To watch, click here
I'll explain the product and show you how quick and easy it is to make my favorite recipe!

If you are interested in Shakeology then click here and read more. :)

First VLOG!

Hey everyone!

I made my first vlog about 5 minutes ago so go check it out! I was nervous and I've watched it about 123 times trying to put it up on youtube that I can't stand the sound of my own voice anymore! ahh! (Hopefully it doesn't irritate you that much). Anyway let me know what you think! :)

Click HERE!

Is it OK to LIE to uncover the truth???

DECEPTION IN JOURNALISM

Hey everyone! I need your help for a paper I’m writing for my journalism class. ANY and ALL opinions are welcome! :)

Here are some things I want you to think about.

Deception represents a collision in journalism’s values –

Is it OK to tell a lie to uncover the truth?
Is it OK for reporters to go undercover?
Is it OK to use hidden cameras?
Is it OK to pretend to be someone you are not?

Some journalists say we should NEVER use deceptive tactics because we hold public officials to high standards of conduct and should hold ourselves to those same standards. Other journalists, weighing the potential benefits of the reporting to consumers, might conclude that a small crime is acceptable if it allows you to accomplish a greater good.


So what do YOU think about all of this?

Now let me see if I can give you an example of when this was used-

Asylum exposé

Nellie Bly (May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922) was an American journalist, author, industrialist, and charity worker. She is most famous for an undercover exposé in which she faked insanity to study a mental institution from within. She is also well-known for her record-breaking trip around the world.


Burdened again with theater and arts reporting, Bly left the Pittsburgh Dispatch in 1887 for New York City. Penniless after four months, she talked her way into the offices of Joseph Pulitzer's newspaper, the New York World, and took an undercover assignment for which she agreed to feign insanity to investigate reports of brutality and neglect at the Women's Lunatic Asylum on Blackwell's Island.
After a night of practicing deranged expressions in front of a mirror, she checked into a working-class boardinghouse. She refused to go to bed, telling the boarders that she was afraid of them and that they looked crazy. They soon decided that she was crazy, and the next morning summoned the police. Taken to a courtroom, she pretended to have amnesia. The judge concluded she had been drugged.

She was then examined by several doctors, who all declared her to be insane. "Positively demented," said one, "I consider it a hopeless case. She needs to be put where someone will take care of her."[3] The head of the insane pavilion at Bellevue Hospital pronounced her "undoubtedly insane". The case of the "pretty crazy girl" attracted media attention: "Who Is This Insane Girl?" asked the New York Sun. The New York Times wrote of the "mysterious waif" with the "wild, hunted look in her eyes", and her desperate cry: "I can't remember, I can't remember."[4]

Committed to the asylum, Bly experienced its conditions firsthand. The food — gruel broth, spoiled beef, bread that was little more than dried dough, and dirty water that was undrinkable. The dangerous inmates were tied together with ropes. The inmates were made to sit for much of each day on hard benches with scant protection from the cold. Waste was all around the eating places. Rats crawled all around the hospital. The bathwater was frigid, and buckets of it were poured over their heads. The nurses were obnoxious and abusive, telling the patients to shut up, and beating them if they did not. Speaking with her fellow residents, Bly was convinced that some were as sane as she was. On the effect of her experiences, she wrote:

"What, excepting torture, would produce insanity quicker than this treatment? Here is a class of women sent to be cured. I would like the expert physicians who are condemning me for my action, which has proven their ability, to take a perfectly sane and healthy woman, shut her up and make her sit from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. on straight-back benches, do not allow her to talk or move during these hours, give her no reading and let her know nothing of the world or its doings, give her bad food and harsh treatment, and see how long it will take to make her insane. Two months would make her a mental and physical wreck."[3]

After ten days, Bly was released from the asylum at The World's behest. Her report, later published in book form as Ten Days in a Mad-House, caused a sensation and brought her lasting fame. While embarrassed physicians and staff fumbled to explain how so many professionals had been fooled, a grand jury launched its own investigation into conditions at the asylum, inviting Bly to assist. The jury's report recommended the changes she had proposed, and its call for increased funds for care of the insane prompted an $850,000 increase in the budget of the Department of Public Charities and Corrections.


^^All of the information I posted on Nellie was taken from Wikipedia and more can be found here.


So in this case a journalist found herself creating a new identity (a lie) to uncover a greater truth. How do you feel about this? Do you think she could have gone a different way to uncover the same story? Why or why not? Do you think this kind of practice is ethical? Any final opinions?

Thanks for your help everyone!

8 reasons to start loving your body today...

HEY EVERYONE! :)

So I just finished reading Shape and there was a little column called "8 reasons to start loving your body today"

"Life is short; why spending it bashing your body? If you need help jump-starting your self-acceptance, just read our list of reasons to embrace yourself- from head to toe.

1- BECAUSE it's unique; no one else has the same one.

2- BECAUSE it's capable of extraordinary feats, enabling you to run, climb, jump, lift, squat, snuggle, and spoon.

3- BECAUSE no matter how badly you treat it, it's willing to give you another chance.

4- BECAUSE it's expressive, telling you how it feels (pay attention!) and broadcasting to others how you feel about it.

5- BECAUSE, let's face it, confidence is pretty sexy.

6- BECAUSE your daughter must learn to love hers.

7- BECAUSE somebody out there (or many somebodies!) admires, covets, and adores it.

8- BECAUSE you'll regret not loving it more later."

Summer Favorites (so far!)

Movies!
The Hangover


I saw it twice and it was hilarious both times, maybe even better the second time! :)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince



Again I loved the book much more but for a movie it was awesome! I thought that it wasn't the best movie in the Harry Potter series though, I think my favorite might be "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire". But I saw the midnight showing and I would definitely recommend the movie (and the book of course) to EVERYONE! :)

Book
"L.A. Candy"


I was really surprised that Lauren Conrad could write, okay that was mean, but yes I was skeptical of it. I finished this book in about two nights and was ready for more!! Come on Lauren write some more! :)

TV Show

Weeds


Mat and I have watched all 4 seasons of Weeds for far and we were left in yet another one of Nancy Botwin's cliffhangers so I'm excited for when season 5 is over and released on DVD so we can buy it!! :) This is definitely a super funny show.

I Eat 33,000 Calories a Day!

So week 2 of ChaLEAN Extreme is coming to an end and I must say I ROCKED the workouts!! Okay I’m never (almost never) a whimp when it comes to the workouts so the big question is... how was my eating?? I had great meals through the day from breakfast to dinner but then….later in the evening after dinner I’ll crave something sweet! So one night it was a Blueberry lemon square the other night it was Hershey pie from BK and another it was an iced capp from Tim Horton’s. WHAT THE HECK!!! I’ve never really had a week like this before, almost each night there was some kind of sweet snack.

I think I’m going to go back to the “Challenge” rules when I was allowed one cheat meal a week. Maybe with my thinking along those lines, instead of the normal “you can’t have that stuff at all”, I’ll do better. Putting restrictions on the sweets makes me want it more than just knowing that I can have it once a week.

My trainer is going to kick my butt tomorrow when she sees my “Weekly Diet Tracking” sheet. Right now she has me on a no bread or processed food plan, so far I’ve had no bread!

Tonight I came home from work and TLC’s “I Eat 33,000 Calories a Day” program was on. It definitely made me a bit grossed out watching that much food consumed in a day by a single person. But while watching it, it made me realize- wow my calorie worries are NOTHING compared to what some people have to go through. Putting stress on myself over drinking an Iced Capp is the least of the worries to the man in the show who said food was “better than sex” and that he’d rather have a carry out than a relationship! Food is meaningless when it compares with relationships, family & friends are much more important.

This man pays $28-$38 A DAY on chocolate bars! He ate a total of 36,902 calories a day which is what an average man eats in 2 weeks. This show also made me realize that I appreciate the way I look and that I am glad that I am healthy! I’m also glad that I have the ability to work out. I know what food is healthy and what is not. My body works the way it should- let’s me know when I am hungry and when I am full. To the super morbidly obese people on the show, their bodies got to a certain point that being “full” was not really an option.

One of the things that was said on the show was that these people did not realize or even think they were eating that many calories. This brings me to Chalene Johnson’s tweet from a couple days ago, "Can't lose weight but doing everything right? 80% of the time it's becuz ppl overestimate what they burn & underestimate what they eat." I think that is VERY TRUE. Most of the people were guessing they ate about 3,000-4,000 calories a day when it was actually 20,000, that’s pushing it people.


Okay so I'll be back next week to tell you how things went with me.

Here is my goal and yes I've written it down and I'm sharing it with you--






OKAY OKAY! I thought I was done with this post... but I'm not!

I found this article on Yahoo! Shine's Healthy Living section & figured I needed to share it-


User Post: Today's Meditation - Stop Criticizing Yourself
By Jane Powell - www.MeditationsForWomen.com

“Be your own unconditional friend.”

Are you your own best friend?

Sadly, most women are their own worst enemy. Who needs enemies when you can consult your harshest critic anytime you glance in a mirror? Logically, we should all be our own best friend, but it often isn’t the case. We reserve our harshest criticism for ourselves.

Learn now to be gentle with yourself. You deserve special treatment simply because you are special. Who best to comfort you, but you? Who best to compliment you, but you? Learning to love yourself is the greatest gift that you can give yourself. No expensive cosmetics, no retail therapy can deliver the inner warmth of knowing that you are happy being you.

When we love ourselves, it is no longer important that our hair is not perfect or that our thighs are a little dimpled. We don’t beat ourselves up for imagined imperfections anymore. In fact, we embrace our imperfections.

Today, look in the mirror and smile. The person there will smile right back. She loves you. Love her, too.

Are you passionate about something? Want to earn some cash? Let's go!!

Hey everyone!!

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately about the business that I am in and what my job is (I LOVE THESE KINDS OF QUESTIONS!). :) So I am an Independent Beachbody Coach.

Let me answer some questions:

What is a coach?

Beachbody refers to their reps as “coaches”. They call them coaches because they are more than just “distributors” or “reps”. Yes, they have the ability to sell and suggest fitness products and workouts, but they also have a vested interest to “coach” the people they are in contact with into a better way of life. Look at it this way…I’ve thought of myself as a coach for many years while working in the fitness industry or just by working out in the gym and offering advice to my neighbor. Now I can make it official and start earning money to do what I’ve been doing passionately for all those years.


Who can be a coach?

ANYONE! You do not need to be invited; you can make this decision yourself and sign up today! We strongly encourage those to join in the coaching business who have a strong desire to reach their deepest goals. This is a home based business working as the “go-to” person, for helping people get fit! You do not need to have certifications, degrees, or years of experience working in the fitness industry to do this. All you need to do, is to continue to be an example yourself and share your successes with others! You can be a fitness professional, in the best shape of your life, or working your way to the best shape of your life….as long as you are committed and dedicated to staying accountable, you can help others become accountable in their goals too!


What do I “do” everyday as a coach?

Depending on where you want to take your business or the direction of your goals, this answer can be different for everyone. But primarily the common answer is to – Share your Story! As a coach, you have the ability to sell any Beachbody item from their nutritionals all the way to their workout videos. Just start telling your story and letting people know of your new business venture. The word will spread! You may also spend your time getting in touch with your network and circle around you. You will have the greatest gains in your business if you build your down line team of coaches.


What are the fees to join?

Beachbody really wants to make this as affordable as possible, so that we can make a HUGE difference in our direction to change one person at a time in becoming more fit and healthy!
Initial Join in Cost: $39.95
This includes your:
• Business Kit which will be shipped to you (s/h extra)
• Your FIRST month’s fee of your personal Coaching Webpage
Monthly Webpage Fee: $14.95
Your webpage will serve for multiple purposes. Beachbody automatically updates and maintains your webpage! They build it for you! All you need to do is personalize it with your photo and bio! Your page will be used for:
• Your customers to make purchases from your virtual store!
• Those interested in getting into the CLUB MEMBERSHIP so they can receive 10% discount on any item they buy
• Signing up your coaches!
• COACHING BACKOFFICE- this is your business center for your coaching business. You will securely access this to build, maintain, and watch your business grow from your down line coaches to your weekly pay checks.


Club Membership: $38.87 (OPTIONAL FEE: 4 times a year total- billed quarterly)
• As a club member, you will have access to additional fitness and nutritional programs available to you on your webpage. BUT the #1 reason to be a part of this is Beachbody’s LEAD GENERATION PROGRAM!
• As an active Emerald coach, you will be GIVEN FREE CUSTOMERS from Beachbody! Beachbody spends over 100 million dollars each year in advertising. When those customers contact Beachbody to purchase something or to get more involved, Beachbody assigns those contacts to ACTIVE EMERALD (or higher) coaches!


Beachbody actually GIVES me customers?

YES! Just reach the basic level of EMERALD and maintain and active status, and you will receive customers in your database possibly everyday! Beachbody receives about 20-30,000 customer leads a week! Those come in and get assigned to the next active emerald coach (or higher) in line. You will earn commissions from these customers REPEAT business! You will also earn BONUS Commissions off of their CLUB MEMBERSHIP dues! (billed and paid quarterly) Just for being ACTIVE!

How do I earn income as a Beachbody coach?
• There are several very detailed ways of earning income and the many ways to really make a significant income. But in general, here are the basics:
• Any sales to customers of products from your website or directly from yourself- 25% commission
• Customers who join the CLUB MEMBERSHIP- you earn 50% of their quarterly membership dues
• Personally sponsored coaches who are in the CLUB MEMBERSHIP earn you 50% commission
• ADDTIONALLY- Your Downline TEAM CYCLE BONUSES can pay out when you bank a certain amount of points.
• Customers in the Club Membership- you receive 15% commission on any of their purchases
• As a Beachbody Coach, you get a 25% discount on any item you personally want to purchase as well!

Do I have to stock inventory?

No, you do not. This is a virtual business. However, you can purchase items in greater amounts and sell them at your leisure or as drop shipments.

How can I fit this in my daily life?
I’m already way too busy!?If you are involved in fitness already, this will be MUCH easier for you! This will be natural and follow what you normally do already! Opportunity always presents itself, now you’ll just have a way of earning commissions on the programs you’ve already been suggesting. The extent to which you develop your “downline” is up to each individual. You can be very aggressive to create a long downline of coaches and retail sales. As someone involved in fitness, you’ll find yourself having the same conversations you would naturally when people ask you the many questions they often do about “getting fit” and losing weight.


Can I cancel anytime?

Yes. You can cancel in your first 30 days, and be completely refunded the first months fees. Thereafter, you can cancel at anytime and only be out, the amount of time you were in the business. However, if you decide you want to rejoin, you will lose your seniority position and level you were once in the company as well as have to wait a 6 month period from cancellation before you can re-join.

Do you have more questions about coaching?

Contact me! I'd love to talk to YOU about coaching. It has been a GREAT experience so far and as my business continues to grow it gets better & better! :)

You ready to be a coach?
Click here!!

Feel free to leave me a comment, e-mail me or facebook me! :)

IT'S TIME TO GET EXTREME!

Hey everyone!! So yesterday was July 1st and I started my ChaLEAN Extreme Challenge with Lisa. I made my lovely sister take my “before” pictures and then did the fit test, which I am proud to say I did better than when I took it the first time in December, and I also retook my measurements and I was surprised to see I LOST 2” IN MY WAIST! :) Who knew??!

Here is a BEFORE pic (give me 30 days & I'll post a new pic):





I made a little calendar of all my planned workouts and I printed out the handy CE worksheets that are on teambeachbody.com. I did not know about those worksheets the first time around so I was PUMPED when I saw they were pre-made for me. Then what next? I worked out! I did Burn Circuit 1 and was shaking like a scared Chihuahua! It was so much fun though and I definitely was lifting heavier weights then when I did it the first time too. I tried to match whatever Chalene was lifting but for a couple workouts I had to take it down a couple notches.

Now here is the fun part, food! Ah!! Right now I have these “Weekly Diet Tracking” worksheets from Bally’s that I’m recording what I eat all day and then next week I’m going to go over that with the trainer. For the most part it’s looking good, 1 meal a day is Shakeology, plus chicken breast, protein plus special K cereal, egg white omelets, fruits & vegetables but then Tuesday and last night I sadly gave into my sweet tooth cravings. :( AH! What is my deal?! I had 2 pieces of fudge (my sister brought it home from Mackinaw Island) and then the next day I had a brownie (I always find treats at Mat’s). So I am making a PROMISE to myself and to you, no more late night snacks for this week. I really wish I could detox my house of that crap (you are lucky if you live alone or are in control of the food where you live!) so then I would have no problems. But what I’m going to do is if I know I’m going to be hungry after working when I’m hanging out with Mat I’m going to eat a sugar free 60 calorie jell-o pudding cup (that’s chocolate!) or I bought Kettle Korn from Trader Joe’s the other day with Pamela that is only 110 calories for 2 ¾ cup serving.

I can’t wait to tell you guys how I’m progressing! Today is a scheduled REST DAY which normally I throw in some kind of crazy workout and defeat the purpose but I’m actually extremely sore from the last couple days and I think I’m going to use that rest day. Okay never mind that, I just got an idea, I’m going to practice Turbo Rd 36. I’ve been trying to practice more often so I’ll feel really comfortable doing the class and then I’m going to practice teaching it to Kathy & Niki, my first students! Yay! :) They are going to like getting done to BABY GOT BACK! ha.

PS- This is a little Shakeology note- I am a nail biter and from having acrylic nails for so long they are kind of weak. Since I’ve been drinking Shakeology my nails are SO STRONG and they are actually growing! I am excited!!