Team Beachbody ¡preestreno!Español Guest

Hi, my name is Julie “Jah-GOY-tee” on TeamBeachbody and I’m so happy to
share my story! I should mention that for most of my life I’ve been an active
and fit individual. As a kid, I would spend the day outside playing
imagination games or wading through the bug-infested marshes of
Minnesota trying to catch frogs. I didn’t think too much of what I ate, and
just lived life as a carefree, happy kid. Something changed when I turned 19,
however. Instead of feeling carefree and happy, I started feeling anxious and
sad for no situational reason at all. I was diagnosed with severe clinical
depression and spent a year trying to find the right medication to help me
cope. Finally I found something to help stabilize my mind, and was able to
enter the college I to which I had earned a great scholarship!

Halfway through college, I hit a snag. My parents went bankrupt and I left
college to work full-time to help support my family. We ended up losing
everything: my childhood home, the car, and the sense of trust and security
overall. As we rebuilt our lives, I transferred to another college I could
commute to. It was a stressful time working to support myself and my family
while dedicating myself to earn As and Bs in school. I stayed up all hours
doing homework, and the feelings of depression were worsening without
healthcare. I turned to food as my emotional outlet and crutch. I’m ashamed
to admit it, but a typical day of eating for me was doughnuts and chocolate
milk for breakfast, burgers and fries for lunch, pizza or lots of pasta for
dinner, and ice cream to end the day. I gained about 25 pounds in one
semester!

The program I first turned to was Slim in Six. The thing that compelled me
most to use Slim in Six was the trainer, Debbie Siebers confessing that she
once had a compulsive eating habit too. She looked absolutely fantastic, and
if she could overcome the same problem I struggled with, then I could too!
Plus, the program was only six weeks, which seemed like a manageable
timeline to tackle.

So in the spring of 2007, I began Slim in Six. I used the TeamBeachbody
website to find the best eating plan for me. It was great because all I needed
to do was print out the week’s meals, and follow them in order to get the
right amount of calories and macronutrient ratios. I also used the Slimming
Formula and a heart rate monitor to track my intensity. The workouts were
so challenging at first! I could only do pushups from my knees, and the leg
lifts? Forget about doing a whole set, let alone the whole routine without
resting the leg! But my stamina quickly improved. I started using more
resistance, doing pushups from my toes, and doing all the leg lifts by the end
of week 4! The meal plan kept me feeling satisfied and not wanting to stray
back into my compulsive eating habits. The depression still was a factor, but
even on my incredibly sad days, I would push through the workout –
sometimes with tears streaming down my face. I had made the decision and
the commitment, and I was determined to succeed!

Another tool that kept me accountable was finding a supportive community
on the Beachbody message boards. It was so helpful to read how other
people had the same thoughts and struggles I did, and were able to give the
necessary honest advice on how to overcome them.

After Slim in Six, I decided to take things up a notch and do a 4 week slim-
training rotation of Slim Series while still using Beachbody’s meal plan. I
loved Slim Series because of the variety of workouts and challenges, and I got
to see a sillier side of Debbie too! After finishing Slim Series, I finally reached
my goal weight of 134 lbs. My waist went from 34 inches before Slim in Six
to 28.5 inches after Slim Series. I felt so empowered, proud, and HAPPY! The
regular exercise really helped to improve my mood, and of course looking
good made me feel happy again too! I got married in the summer of 2007
wearing an open-back wedding dress – something I could not have done
without Debbie and Beachbody!

I haven’t been perfect, though I wish I could say I was. After getting married,
we moved from Minnesota to Miami, Florida where I struggled to find work
and friends. My daily struggle is learning to live with depression. I've had to
try multiple medications and I reached my heaviest weight of all time in a few short months. When I'm depressed, I want to binge on junk food and I tell
myself I'm too sad to work out. The weird thing about depression is it makes
you want to do the things that make you feel more depressed! Like a vicious
cycle. Finding the right medication and support is crucial to managing the
illness, but I also truly believe that regular exercise and clean eating play a
major role in dealing with depression as well. So although my weight maxed out at 182 by April 2009. I have re-commited myself to the Beachbody lifestyle.
I did a round of Chalean Extreme and lost 22 lbs! I have started another round again, we'll see where this goes. This is not a one-time fix, or a yo-yo diet, it's a
lifestyle and I am so happy that the Beachbody community exists for people
who desire such a lifestyle. I plan on losing another 30 pounds to get back to my
healthy normal weight of 130. So check back soon, I'll be back to my slim
happy self again with the help of Beachbody!