YES, that includes ME!  That is why I am excited to bring to you a fellow NASM CPT’s new program!  Yes, LIIFT4 from Beachbody Super Trainer, and my virtual buddy 😉 , Joel Freeman!

OK, I know that I seem to be excited about ALL new Beachbody programs, but with my busy life, LIIFT4 is seriously my kind of workout!  30-40 minute workouts 4 days a week??? UHHHH…..YES PLEASE!!!

As a Beachbody Coach, I often feel guilty that I don’t have time to actually do many of our programs.  I teach about 10 hours of fitness classes each week, have PT clients, run Phoenix Fitness With Body By BrendaT fitness studio on my own, am a Beachbody Coach, have a family(yes, the kids all have fur!), and work full time.  That doesn’t leave too much time to do a 60 minute workout every day without sacrificing sleep.  Which you NEED to repair and recover from doing hard workouts!  In fact, I have learned over the past 18 months, that my being a sleep martyr does absolutely NO GOOD for anyone.  It causes illness, hormonal imbalance, and can actually BACKFIRE as far as fitness goal are concerned.  In the last 3 weeks, since I have been getting more sleep, I haven’t lost much fat yet, but my muscle tone is finally starting to take better shape again!

My point of this post…

I want EVERYONE who says they don’t have time for exercise to hit me up, because we ALL(even me with my schedule) have 2-2.5 hours a week that we can dedicate to our health and fitness without sacrificing sleep or even family time.  I know this, because I bet this blog isn’t the ONLY thing you have read on the internet today!  Am I right???

Here is a quick video from Mr Joel Freeman himself showing you a bit about the program.

So after watching that, if you are ready to build lean muscle and burn fat in just 4 days a week with Super Trainer, Joel Freeman, and his newest no-nonsense workout program. You will lift.  You will HIIT.  You will build lean muscle. AND You will burn fat!  THEN, you will rest on 3 scheduled recovery days.

LIIFT4 fully launches exclusively on Beachbody On Demand on October 1st.

BUT…..but LIIFT4 will be available for sale for VIP Early Access on June 11th, 2018 with a completion pack including the digital unlock, for Beachbody On Demand All Access Members, with the workouts for the VIP Early Access actually going live on July 16th. 

Message me TODAY to get on my VIP wait list & get first access on June 11 AND The special SURPRISE Sneak Peek on Monday, June 4th!!!

Email – bodybybrendat@outlook.com

Facebook Messenger  – Body By BrendaT or Phoenix Fitness with Body By BrendaT

Text your email and any questions to 217-316-0683

Yes, I did mean to SCREAM food!  I know I am not the only one who gets totally frustrated daily with food.

Do you struggle with nutrition?

Do you think that because you workout you can just eat whatever you want?

Was the above statement true 8-10 years ago, and all of a sudden, you are going through some hormonal changes and NOTHING seems the same?

Do you think that fitness professionals have it ALL FIGURED out for ourselves ALL THE TIME and are all a consistent size 0?

If you answered YES to any of the above, I would LOVE to get you in my June Nutrition Success and Accountability Group.  Because your mindset is NOT in the right place!  And you, like me, need some help fixing your relationship with food and fitness.

In this group, we will be using the 2B Mindset program, and you WILL be required to order the program through me!  No ifs, ands, or buts! It is the only way I can be your Team Beachbody Coach and that we can work together.  And  If you want a $20 discount, we need to get this done by 6/1/18.  And I would be happy to sign you up as a Coach on my team and you can either work the business, or simply enjoy the future discounts as well as joining an Exclusive Facebook Group for Team Beachbody Coaches ONLY, with the Creator of 2B Mindset, but also only if you purchase and become a coach BEFORE 6/1/18.

Now, before you even ask, I will tell you honestly, that NO, I have not had a huge weight loss on it myself yet.  BUT, I have only been using the program myself for 2 weeks and lost 3# while having two really tough weekends in a row 😛  And since this is not a program with a set amount of days, but a nutrition course to learn how to fix your relationship with food and therefore, your mindset about it forever.  I have done my best to follow most of the principles and track my food – the good, the bad, and the down right ugly- but the last 2 weekends, I let old habits take over my brain.  Am I proud of that?  NOPE!  It is just a fact of life!  I, like you, am also a struggling human trying to figure out how to get my own mindset in a healthier place.  But I will also tell you that I LOVE her principles, and they are very close to how I lost my initial weight.  I HATED measuring, and I eyeballed most things, so portion control has always been tough and my “calorie counting” was always a bit off.  Maybe too high some days and too low others.  But with 2B Mindset, you measure by your plate.  No, not a special plate, just knowing what to give the biggest priority to during each meal and snack.  So it is NOT difficult, and you don’t have a doctorate in mathematics to do it!

10 years ago when I started this journey, I was freaked out because I was 37, disabled, smoked like a chimney, drank like a fish, weighed- at the very heaviest I ever saw on a scale- 296#, and was scared to death that I was going to die before I hit 40!  So I logged all of my food.  I started exercising VERY SLOWLY!  And I reached out and found a support group with some awesome leaders!  And I lost 147#!  Then I started lifting and gaining muscle- and some weight which freaked me out- but at 165# I was fit, healthy, and wearing the same size I probably wore in 1st grade!  A size I never knew was even possible for me!  A size 4!

Today, I am 47, still technically disabled, but whatever, haven’t smoked in 9+ years, cut way back on drinking, but I do still enjoy my beer and an occasional Fireball and Root Beer or moscato, and although I am once again overweight, only by about 35#, NOT 146#, and I wear a size 8-10.  As most of you know, I have been fighting the inevitable battle of becoming a middle aged woman and ALL the glorious hormonal changes that come with that.  AND all the fantastic things that those hormones can do to our bodies.  And yes, that was meant to be dripping with sarcasm! 😉 LOL!

So, even though I am not now where I want to be, I am FAR from where I started! 

This is a journey.  This is life.  The point is not the END destination, but how you live while you are here!  And I want to live healthy and happy!  Spending my hours in the gym or doing healthy meal prep, or hours in dialysis and recovering from major cardiac events?  I have seen both HARDS!  The latter scares me so bad, that I am having anxiety right now thinking about the possibility of it being my fate.  And I plan to do everything I can to keep that from happening to me.  And the more I learn, the more I want to help others do the same.  So if you are looking for support and guidance through your journey, I would love to have you join me.

Find me on Facebook or email me at bodybybrendat@outlook.com

I know what you are thinking!

Brenda, have you lost your mind?

What in the heck could 2 Bunnies possibly have to do with your relationship with food?

WELL…Not only are they going to help me restore a HEALTHY relationship with food, but they have already helped me shed more than 4# in the first week!

OK, so it’s not THESE Bunnies!

2 Bunnies has to do with the 4 Main Principles of the new program I am doing from Beachbody.  And get this…..NO EXERCISE IS REQUIRED!  Of course, exercise is ALWAYS recommended for overall health, but it is not required for this nutrition program.  It is EXTRA CREDIT!

So, now I am guessing your questions are…

What IS this wonderful Program?

and

How can I get it?

Meet Ilana Muhlstein, Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and her new program 2B Mindset~

So, have I peaked your interest?

I hope so!

There are a few different ways to get 2B Mindset, and with one, you get to be added to an Exclusive Facebook Group with Ilana herself, so hit me up ASAP, and I would love to have you join me on this journey, or even become a team member and help me help others AND get access to an Exclusive Facebook Group WITH Ilana, while we fight to win this war we have with our mindset when it comes to food!

Feel free to comment below, email me at bodybybrendat@outlook.com, message me on Facebook, or you can even text my business line at 217-316-0683.

April 10th.  The day I dread all year long.  It is the day that a quite literal piece of me went to heaven.   You see, my daughter, Marian, was born and died April 10, 1989.  The day after my 18th birthday.  Little did I know at the time, that the 5 1/2 months I spent with her would be the closest I would ever get to being a mother.  She will always be with me, but there will also always be a part of me that will grieve the loss of my child.

As I was getting ready for work this morning, I thought WOW!  Marian would be 29 today.  I always think of her as a baby, but if she were alive today, she could quite possibly have babies of her own.  I would be a Grandma!  What a beautiful thought ❤ 

But that was not in the hand I was dealt.  I was never blessed with children.  I often wonder how different my life may have been, but I am happy now, so why dwell, right?  But I still can’t help but wonder sometimes.

Today as I am trying to get into my work, I just had to dump some thoughts and feelings so I could go on about my day.  I do still get down sometimes about not being a Mom.  I do still love babies.  I am blessed with more nieces, nephews, and great- nieces and nephews than I can count anymore that I love to pieces!  I do still have days that I don’t want to be around babies, although they are much fewer and far between these days.  Today, however, being one of them, but only because I have a TERRIBLE COLD! 😛

So, I write this blog mainly to say Happy Birthday Marian!  Mommy LOVES You!  And I will speak for the rest of the family and say, that we all wish we could have met you.  Here, once again, is Daddy’s Poem for you.

In Memory Of Marian

I hear the cry of a child

From far, far away

And I wonder if the crying

Is my Marian trying to say:

It’s OK, so please don’t frown,

It was not your fault at all.

Now I am sitting here in Heaven

And GOD said that I could call.

So I called to say I love you,

And I hope that you’re alright.

I hope my call won’t sadden you,

And keep you up all night.

Well, I have to go now.

Please be happy and don’t fret.

‘Cause I am sitting here on GOD’s lap

Getting the best care I can get.

‘Till we meet again ❤

Let’s get REAL for a minute.  I want to talk about a really tough subject.

I had kind of a rough weekend.  Not real sure why, besides the fact that the weather had my arthritis in full on RAGE!!!  And then came the SNOW!  In APRIL!  And I admit, that I am not fond of it to begin with, and I am so over winter.  Yes, the snow is beautiful and all that, but it makes things messy and cold and quite frankly, makes my body feel like someone has beat the Hell out of me!  My back seizes up, and every joint from my shoulders to my ankles were declaring war against my body that so wanted to move freely!

I would love to tell you that on days like yesterday, that I made it through without tears.  Didn’t happen.  And when I hurt, I get depressed.  And when I get depressed, I start thinking about things that make me even more sad.  I cry at stupid television commercials.  I even cried yesterday watching a horror film!  WTH?!?  WHY was I having these feelings?  I just wanted to NUMB OUT!  I didn’t WANT to feel like this!

That is when I knew the cycle had started!

Depression —> Anxiety

As an introvert, I often choose to be alone.  But being alone is NOT the same thing as being lonely.  Someone with depression or anxiety can feel lonely in a crowded room.  And that kind of loneliness and sadness makes me want to GO NUMB!  And HOW do I numb the pain?  I binge eat and I drink!  A LOT!

Yesterday, because of a choice that I made nearly 3 months ago, I forced myself to ride out the pain!  I checked in with my Exclusive 80 Day Coach Test Group, and I did NOT overeat OR have that drink!  And kids…..I am not going to lie, I have an open bottle of Rum Chata and an open bottle of Fireball Whiskey staring at me tempting me EVERY DAY!  It hasn’t been easy ANY of the 78 days so far during this 93 day strict commitment, but with the positive support of a support and accountability group, I feel stronger and more positive that I CAN do it!

Do I still HAVE the crappy days?  ABSOLUTELY!  Honestly, yesterday SUCKED!!!  And it is still dragging me down today.  I had an anxiety attack this morning getting ready for work, broke down bawling putting on my makeup(which made me LATE for work), and I have this lingering feeling of sadness and feel like a complete and utter failure.  Back to the cycle?

NO!  I made myself get up.  I made myself workout.  I made myself get in my car and drive to work.  And I MADE myself stay on track with my nutrition and MADE myself NOT HAVE A DRINK!!!

Those choices ARE mine!

But most days, I will admit, I am not strong enough to do it alone.  So, if you are like me and you need support to stay on track, I found a solution.  That is what I do as a Beachbody Coach and Personal Trainer.  I hold group classes AND I have online support and accountability groups.  Do I still need it myself?  EVERY DAY!  But being in my own support and accountability groups helps ME as much as I can help my clients and customers.  It has become my passion, because I know that feeling of making it through a day and NOT giving in to the temptations.  I know what it feels like to finally see that scale number go down, or that muscle definition come in, or to be able to shop in any store and be able to find something that fits.

I am in the midst of a comeback right now.  I got sick, gained weight, lost some confidence, and my depression–>anxiety cycle was on constant repeat.  I was drinking more than I had in over 8 years.  The stress and sadness was taking over again.  But I kept trying.  I kept pushing.  But I had changed to some degree.  And I didn’t like who I was becoming.  The darkness was returning. So I made a CHOICE!

I chose to do something SO HARD, that I was positive I couldn’t do it!  I was just sure that I would NOT succeed!  I joined this test group that is SO STRICT on workouts and nutrition and NO ALCOHOL, with every thought in the back of my head being that I could NOT do it!  But I made it through Day 1.  And then Day 2.  And then the whole 1st Phase.  Then all of a sudden, I realized I was doing this for ME because I MATTER!  My health MATTERS!  The positive outlook that I had adopted when I started my health and fitness journey in September 2008, not only mattered to me, but mattered to EVERY SINGLE PERSON that I came into contact with!  And letting other people, my surroundings, or my current situation bring darkness into my life, was NOT serving my purpose!

I still fully believe that God brought fitness into my life to be a catalyst on which to build my passion of helping others!  It took some time, but I realize now, that it isn’t about being perfectly FIT!  It is about being positive and making daily choices to do MY best!  And to always remember that I am capable of lighting my own way when I find myself sitting in the dark.  My happiness and light does not depend on anyone else.  Only I can make me happy through the choices I make every day!

So, although I honestly believe that you have to make the choice to be happy everyday and not let the darkness around or in you take over, sometimes we all need a little support.  The support groups I run are fitness and nutrition based, but I promise you, if you FULLY commit to helping yourself become a healthier YOU…..They can help you BE so much MORE!

I have been repeatedly reminded lately, that the more you share with people what a TRUE mess you are, the more people realize you are human and are more approachable.  People who know about things I have been through in my past, say things to me like, “You are amazing!”, “How did you get through all of THAT and still come out with a positive attitude?”, or “You are SO strong!  I could never do what you have done.”

Honestly, I have to take it day by day.  Sometimes hour by hour or minute by minute!  And when I look around and see what others go through, I really don’t think I have a lot to complain about.  It really has been a pretty good life overall, with a few REALLY CRAPPY things thrown in to make me stronger.  I have definitely been through some rough spots, but I figure there was something to learn, because I am still alive.  Life is rarely easy, but as the saying goes, “Most things that are worth it, are rarely easy!”

Most people don’t follow me and want to work with me just because I have lost 148# in the past.  Honestly, I would say more of the people who want to work with me, do so because I am not ashamed or afraid to tell you that I still have struggles.  That right now I am FAR FROM my lowest weight of 149#!  That I am going through menopause and that MENOPAUSE SSSUUUUUCCCKKKKSSSS!!!!  That I still battle daily pain and keep going anyway!  And that I have no intention of quitting just because right now I am not the best ever version of me IN ONE WAY!  I AM however, stronger than I was yesterday both physically AND mentally!  I have done a LOT of soul searching through this process(I have not had an alcoholic beverage or cheated on my meal plan even once in the last 73 days!), which also means I have spent a lot of time alone.  Some may not understand the journey I am on right now, but they don’t have to.  They just have to respect it as mine.  I am still me and I work hard every day to be MY best and help others do the same, but I had some stuff to work through.  And then we have the whole sudden death of the best cat in the world to throw me into more stress, but I am still going strong!

If you follow me on IG ( @bodybybrendat ) or Facebook (Body By BrendaT ), you know that the reason for all of this recent soul searching has been that I have been doing 80 Day Obsession in an Exclusive Team Beachbody Coaches’ Test Group.  And since this is MY blog, I am going to take a few lines here at the end of this post to celebrate some things and smash some people’s crappy opinions about me not getting the results that I should be, so I must be cheating!

1 – I have lost 20#.

2 – I am now wearing 3 pairs of pants that would not go up over my wide hips 2 months ago.

3 – I deal with pain EVERY DAY anyway, so it might as well come from lifting heavy weights! 😉

4 – I am PROUD of myself!

5 – This is the first REAL progress I have seen since starting my battle against out of control cortisol levels and Adrenal Fatigue almost 2 years ago!

6 – I have learned that stress, especially prolonged stress, can cause weight gain!  And that resetting your body AFTER stress can take time!  And that being patient and not giving in to a self-loathing mindset is HARD!  But worth it if you can just find enough positivity to surround yourself with to make a go of it!

7 – And I am learning, even though I have “known” it forever, that Comparison IS the thief of Joy!  I am not having the same progress that some of the others in the Test Group are having, and I admit that sometimes I let that discourage me. But I continue on my path and do my best to trust the process.  I have been battling some issues for a long time, and some new stress still worked its way in to this chapter of my story, but I deal with it as best I know how(right way OR wrong), and move forward.  Having ANY progress at this point is a miracle to me since I have been stuck for SO LONG!

So, I WILL celebrate MY progress!  I WILL stick to MY journey!  And YES, as always, I welcome EVERYONE to join me.  We can be on our own journeys TOGETHER!  And POSITIVE support helps.  I was lucky enough to be part of a group that is full of the support that I needed at this time.  And I would love to be that support for you! ❤

In fact, I have a support and accountability group that I would love to add you to so that we can help each other as we work towards our goals!

Message me at bodybybrendat@outlook.com for details of what you need to do next if you want in! 🙂