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I'm 55 years old at the time of this writing ... WOW! What a "trip" reflecting back on where I was and where I am now!

So ... where to start ...

Well, I grew up in a German/Italian environment and a large family (over 30 first cousins all living close by) … so gathering regularly with family and friends always involved large quantities of food and fun!

Awareness of my “compulsive overeating” first came to light when I was in college and had to track caloric intake for a week for one of my classes. My “average” daily intake was well over 3500 calories a day – more than double the amount for the national average at that time. (Bear in mind in 1965 the average caloric intake was 1500 calories because we had more nutrient rich foods back then to reach satiety quicker. With today’s “dumbed down food chain” the average caloric intake has risen to 3200 calories … Yikes! It's scary to think what my caloric intake would have been back then with today's food chain!!)

In college I gained the typical “Freshman 10” … well actually it was the “Freshman 15” for me. (I hear it's now referred to as the "Freshman 15" - no surprise with the rate of obesity in this country now) I was active in sports so I wasn’t excessively overweight looking. It wasn’t until after I was married and found myself “sneaking” chips in the pantry closet when I heard my husband coming down the steps that I made myself face some of my "I'm in control" compulsive overeating habits. Yes, exercise is important and healthy … but I would exercise excessively so I could eat more. If there is such a term, I think “exercise bulimic” would have been a suitable description of me. I was now beginning to understand that I was in that category of people … “the masses” … in which the brunt of the weight and eating battle is not at the level of the fat cell, but in the “mind’s eye.” Food had a “hold” on me. It consumed my thoughts. (Yet you wouldn't have know it from the "outside") I shake my head now and laugh when I think back, but at the time it was miserable to have a large piece of lasagna in the refrigerator be your consuming thought throughout the day … until you finally give in and eat it! My life was like that commercial back in the 70s in which the refrigerator was like a magnet … constantly pulling me and everything in the room to it! Ir took me a long to to figure out that "willpower" wasn't the solution!

So ... when did my interest in health/nutrition begin? Well, I have always enjoyed playing sports and had an interest in health and nutrition. My degree was in Physical Education. While I never used my degree to teach I did open up Nutrition and Weight Control Clinics in the early/mid 80s. (Kind of like the “fox in the hen house”!) Fueling my interest in health and nutrition was watching my grandmother, my uncle, my father, my brother and others die of cancer, and more recently my mother who had a 20+ year battle with cancer as well. Watching my mother and grandmother go from robust, vibrant people that could light the world on fire with their infectious smiles both dwindle down to under 60 pounds when they died had a life changing impact on me. I want and need to do my part to avoid “intentionally” having my children and husband watch me go down the same path. There is too much science out there correlating life choices with these diseases for me or anyone to plead ignorance anymore.

Pregnancy didn’t help my cause. I gained over 50 pounds with BOTH my first child and second child! Nicole, my first child was 6 pounds 8 oz … Jack, my second weighed in at 8 pounds 3 oz … that left a LOT of weight! (Hmmm, all those mashed potatoes that went down so smooth found a new home in my fat cells! Go figure!)

Owning and counseling in the Weight Control Clinics back in the mid/later 80s helped me personally as I felt a need to “walk the talk” before my clients. It forced me to PUT myself in a position of accountability with my clients, as well as vice versa. When I look back at this experience I understand to an even greater extent the importance of support and accountability in making lifestyle changes. Becoming a Beachbody Coach has created that self imposed accountability again in my life ... I know now more than ever that fitness is a LIFELONG “journey” and it DOES MATTER who you surround yourself with. Support and accountability is CRUCIAL … and what is often overlooked by us Coaches is it’s also a two way street. I need my “Success Buddies” as much as they/my customers look to me for guidance and support. I was telling one of my customer a couple months ago, “When you slack off you make it easier for me to slack off.” A couple months ago I came home dead tired and no way wanted to “push play” and workout that late at night … but I did it because this customer - a young 21 year old college student in Florida and my recent conversation with her came to my mind ... I committed to her, so I needed to follow through and do my part for both she and me if I was going to be a person of my word! My words to her the next day were those Coach David Martin coined, “Thank you Adaora for being a witness to my fitness.”

So … in the 80s my “health nut” journey began … my zeal to “do something” because started when I was 18 when both my father and grandmother passed away ... Watching my father take his last breaths in the hospital and die lung cancer (he was a smoker), and my grandmother having her breasts and lymph removed and eventually having the cancer eat an open hole in her back (she was obese) made a lasting impression. At that time mainstream medicine was just beginning to accept and make correlations between life choices and disease. I did the typical and started off way too extreme… trying to incorporate a raw diet into my family. I couldn’t make but a few days of that myself much get my family to do it, so I added whole grains. Still too extreme. This new eating was so off base from the typical American diet my family was use to it really caused friction in our home. My was on the “junk food king” end of the spectrum, and my family ate the typical all –American diet. I firmly believe trying to move my children from the usual Corn Flakes, pot roast and mashed potatoes, lasagna and favorite meat fried in a pound of butter diet – oh and of course living in Wisconsin there’s lots of milk, cheese, sausage and beer! - to a raw food diet caused more emotional duress and damage to the body than eating the foods! Dr Joel Robbins gave me some good advice when he said, “Approach it this way … Don’t give up foods, just add to.” In other words, he advised me to add larger quantities and eat FIRST the fresh, raw fruits, veggies, salads, “alkaline” , healthier foods … then eat the pizza or burger or whatever … he explained to me how in time the body physiologically will change and not desire the “SAD” Standard American Diet “acid” foods as much. He helped me understand how those foods were stimulating and actually were “needed” (like a cigarette) by people in their current state to make it through the day. Today I have settled into “moderation” as the rule.

Here’s an interesting observation I made in the 80s … what I saw in the hundreds of clients I had at my Nutrition and Weight Control Clinics was those who had the most difficult time were the ones that had about 10 pounds or nothing to lose as their battle was in the “mind’s eye”. Most of the time we hear Success Stories of the person who lost 50 pounds or 100 pounds. Why? From a marketing standpoint it’s visible. It is my desire to relate also to those of you who I believe are the majority. This is why I am passionate about Beachbody’s TOTAL solution. (My daughter Nicole has an amazing transformation story in overcoming in this area. You may want to check it out. Her profile is at www.teambeachbody.com/beyondthebnd)

For me the simplicity and completeness of the Beachbody’s solution is why I’m here …

In the NUTRITION area:
I consume the “healthiest meal of the day” … SHAKEOLOGY … once or twice a day as part of my nutrition plan, and then fill in with a menu meal and couple snacks. I use to buy cases of fruits and vegetables to juice. Aside from the expense, what a time hog! I’d get up in the morning before the kids had to leave for the bus at 6:30 am and wash, cut, juice them up breakfast. Wow! I would have saved a TON of time AND money if I had Shakeology. I’ve seen hundreds of shakes and functional beverages come on the market in this past 30 years … yet I’ve never seen anything like Shakeology. What a HUGE savings to spend $3 to $4 per “meal” with Shakeology to get 70+ high quality ingredients. My husband has several times said, “There is no product I notice a difference if I miss taking it except Shakeology.” He consumes one or two Shakeology meals a day now! That’s quite a testimony. Nutrition is simplified for me. I love the P90x Bars for snacks (Peanut Butter and Fudge are my favorite!).

In the EXERCISE area:
How much simpler does it get … PUSH PLAY! I live in a log home in the Northwoods of Wisconsin about 20 miles out of town. I love the convenience of an at home/take it with me anywhere fitness program. I love not having to have special equipment. I love not having to “get ready” and drive to a gym.

The Beachbody programs have changed my mindset with respect to exercise – especially strength and stretching exercises. I’ve always had to “play” to get exercise in … a game, ski on the lake, snowshoe through the woods, etc. I was never one to do strength/toning/flexibility exercises. With osteoporosis now being touted as "normal" at age 60 (it's not "normal" it' "common") I have become painfully aware of my need to do strengthening exercise to strenghten my bones. Luckily Beachbody makes available the Showcase Pack for us Coaches so I had a variety of sytle programs to choose from. Shaun Ts Rockin Body and Chalene Johnson’s Turbo Jam were high energy FUN programs and the ideal ones for me to start with. To be candid, if I’d have been first exposed to a traditional workout like Tony’s P90 or Debbie Siebers Slim in 6 I don’t think it would have “drawn me in” like Shaun T or Chalene. THAT'S ME. While I still lean towards the dance/higher energy programs (yes I ordered the Brazil Butt Lift … I figure even a grandma can have fun doing it by myself IN MY HOME!), I now enjoy doing the more traditional workouts like Slim in 6, Kathy Smith, and Tony Horton’s. There’s definitely been a transformation in my mind and body in ALL areas of fitness, not just cardio.

SUPPORT
I told myself, “Sue, this is what YOU make of it!” ALL the tools are there in the Club … from education to Success Buddies and Groups, to tracking, to accountability, to scheduling workouts, to one click meal plans/grocery lists and groups you can join. $2.99/week … unbelievable price! I use to charge people in my clinics … over 20 years ago mind you … $300 to $1000 for one to 3 months service for this part alone!!

In closing, I firmly believe weight loss, weight control, extreme fitness and everything in between … i.e. health … is a mindset and a lifestyle. Thank you Beachbody for your dedication to excellence. Thank you for not “cutting corners” with magic pills, gimmicks and quick fixes. Let me end by saying this, several years ago I made up my company slogan, “Making a world of difference” … What I see in Beachbody CEO Carl Daikeler is a passion and commitment to end the trend of obesity and life choice disease. I am confident that together we can make a difference!

Sue Ramson
December 30, 2009