Waking Up in the Desert

 

Much of the time these days, upon finding out that I am an independent Team Beachbody coach, people ask me, “When did you decide to make a change?” or “What made you want to get healthy, and lose weight?”

This past weekend, at Social Boom 2015, after answering this question to multiple new friends, it occurred to me that I had not “officially” documented my story anywhere on this blog! So, here I
am sharing my story with you, my tribe. 🙂

The Wake-Up Call
In my day job, I was selected for an overseas assignment to the country of Qatar, which would include stops in Kuwait, Afghanistan, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. During this assignment, I would be living on, and traveling between military installations. Since technically, my position would be located in a “deployment” environment, I was required to undergo medical screenings at the naval base in Fort Worth.

At the end of my medical screening, after being weighed, poked, prodded, and had lots of blood taken, the corpsman asked me how long I had before I would be arriving at Fort Benning for deployment preparation… When I told him that was just a couple of weeks away, he warned me not to eat any large meals before then, because if I gained just a couple more pounds before my final medical pass at Benning, I wouldn’t be cleared for the overseas assignment.

I panicked. I made plans to starve myself. I was so scared! You see, the reason that I was so eager to “deploy” as soon as possible without any hindrance, was because I was miserable in my job. I was working in a high stress environment and I hated my job.
This led to terrible habits, such as eating at my desk, rushing to work without breakfast, munching on snacks from the convenience store in our building, ordering out for lunch, staying late and grabbing a drive through or takeout dinner.
I gained almost 90 pounds in 2 years working there.

When I got to Fort Benning, I had been pretty careful for those last couple of weeks, and luckily I was cleared for my assignment. HOORAY!

The Beginning of the Journey
Finally, a month after that first medical screening, I arrived in Qatar. By this time, I had decided that my time there would be spent focusing on my health. I was determined that I would come home healthier happier “new woman.”

It took me a while to acclimate to the different time zone, the incredibly hot weather, and the really high sodium in the free bottled water we were given.

A couple of months into my assignment, I began opting for my “1983 Chevrolegs” as the preferred mode of transportation around base. I no longer drove anywhere unless I needed to go off base for some reason. Walking and guzzling water became my daily exercise.

For the first few months, I saw some pretty decent progress just from the simple changes that I had made since I had arrived in Qatar. I was eating mostly baked, steamed, broiled, or grilled foods and LOTS of veggies in the DFAC (dining facility).
It also didn’t hurt that I was under absolutely zero stress whatsoever in that job, even though I was responsible for the financial reporting and analysis of stores in 3 different countries!

Those Darn Plateaus!
By the fifth month of my assignment, I had hit a plateau. I started googling for different workout plans that I could use with the weight machines in the gym. I felt pretty uncomfortable and incompetent in the gym, especially with everyone else being military personnel who were in great shape…I felt as if I stood out like a sore thumb.

One of the bad habits that had stuck with me, was that I still wasn’t consistently eating breakfast. Being a night owl, I didn’t like waking up early to go get breakfast. So, I would still eat SOME junky foods in place of a healthy breakfast. I’m sure this wasn’t helping me break through that plateau!

I eventually became interested in some sort of healthy effortless meal replacement. I didn’t want something full of soy-based ingredients, or any fillers, nor did I want any artificial flavors or colors in my breakfast. I had discovered the concept of “clean eating” and I just knew that if I could cover my bases with breakfast, the rest of the day would be easy!

Eureka!
During my late nights of poring over different meal replacement products and scanning ingredient labels, Googling ingredients and reading pages of research, I came across Shakeology.
I was pleasantly surprised at the ingredients and the nutrition facts, and I had seen it mentioned on social media, so I did a shoutout on Instagram for anyone who had used it to please comment and let me know about their experience thus far.

A couple of people contacted me, but the one who stood out was named Morgan. She was polite, friendly, unassuming, and certainly not pushy. She told me about her experience of using Shakeology in conjunction with a fitness regimen and how it had really helped her a lot.
We talked about my schedule, my goals and fitness level, and she mentioned Focus T25, which is a 10-week fitness program from Shaun T.
She offered up the idea of a challenge pack, which is a bundle including a fitness program and a month supply of Shakeology, for a deep discount of anywhere from $45 to $90 depending which fitness program is chosen for the bundle.

When I told Morgan that I wanted the Focus T25 challenge pack, she mentioned the coaching option. I hit the roof. No way did I want to coach anyone!! I was morbidly obese myself and struggling; I had no idea what I was doing – who would want to be my client?!
She went on to explain that most people actually would probably relate to me better than a supermodel-fit gal — but also that I didn’t have to actually coach anyone unless I wanted to! I could be a “coach” in name only, just for the 25% discount if I wanted to keep using Beachbody products and keep drinking Shakeology. The cost was the same up front, whether ordering that challenge pack as a new coach, or as a new customer — and the 30 day money-back guarantee applied either way.

I slept on the decision, and the next day it occurred to me that one of two outcomes would occur:
A. I would be the “old” lazy me, not use the workouts, and eventually return it and cancel my account or
B. I would do the program, and love it, and want to stick with it!
The answer was clear – I had nothing to lose, so I signed up for a coach account and ordered my Focus T25 challenge pack.

“Accidental” Entrepreneur
By the time I came home from Qatar, I had lost about 40 pounds; everyone asked me what I had done to lose the weight & get healthier, and I was telling them my methods, sharing tips for healthy eating and exercises.
It dawned on me that I could actually share this journey with them and possibly BE a coach for real – what if I could make a business out of this thing after all?

Ever since I decided to be an active coach, I’ve hosted full “accountability groups” each month; my team and I have helped to change hundreds of lives through clean eating, consistent fitness, and a support community.

Additionally, I’ve made some of the best friends I’ll ever have, and I’ve created my own team of coaches who I am leading to their own successful businesses. My favorite part of coaching is the part where I get to help others!

Since I returned home from overseas, I’ve dabbled with a BUNCH of different Beachbody programs, and I’ve had a lot of fun. I’m about 63 pounds down and aiming for 100 eventually. My endurance is better than ever, and I feel so much happier.

If you are looking for guidance in your fitness journey, I would love to help. 🙂
No matter your fitness level, your goals, or your schedule… There IS a way for you to achieve those dreams!!
Shoot me a message, even if you’re just looking for some tips & recipe ideas; I enjoy sharing what has worked for me!
In the meantime, stay positive and keep SMILING!! 🙂

XOXO,

 

 

 

 

 

Coach Nat