p;

I made a doctor’s appointment right away….but it was a month until I could get in to see her.  Unfortunately,  my physical and, as a result, my emotional well being deteriorated quite a bit during that month.  :(  I had just finished the first two phases of ChaLean Extreme and had great results (you can read about my results here), yet I found myself so very discouraged about my ever dwindling cardio endurance that my excitement about finishing the Lean phase of the program quickly waned.  I knew my doctor would be okay with my tinkering a little bit with the amount of thyroid meds I was taking if we kept in touch, but I also knew that doing so meant I would not get a true picture of what was going on in my body when we did have blood tests run.  All of the years of dose adjustments and blood tests had taught me that if you were anticipating having your levels checked, the LAST thing you would want to do is anything to change your dose right before it.  

So I resigned myself to riding out the month until my appointment.  I struggled to do two workouts a week (the minimum we have to log as BeachBody coaches to be eligible for customer leads) and I began having trouble sleeping at night…. and wanting to sleep very late in the morning.  That type of sleep pattern has been somewhat normal for me my entire life, but it had become more extreme and it was interfering with my life.  For most of November, I managed to still eat a healthy diet and I never missed my morning Shakeology, but by the beginning of December I found myself caving and having a Cherry Coke and pizza for lunch.  This wouldn’t be so bad if it was only on occasion… but it wasn’t.  By the last week of the semester, I didn’t even bother bringing my lunch to work anymore — I would just “buy something at work”.  And when you don’t PLAN a healthy meal, you probably won’t be eating one.  

That was the week I finally went to see my doctor.  I was the last appointment of the day and she was running way behind.  But I had driven an hour to see her and I wasn’t leaving until we talked and had a plan.  So she came in and we talked about everything…it took about 30 minutes.  We talked about thyroid meds and made plans for blood tests.  We talked about adrenal fatigue and added cortisol and DHEA-S levels to my blood work.  I love that she’s so smart.  She asked me if I had been under any stress at my job.  Then we just shared a look.  I’m a University professor, but she works at U of M hospital so she understands the stresses of my job because she has some of those duties as well.  Adrenal fatigue would make some sense…. an inability to make enough cortisol in the morning keeps you from waking up…..  

Turns out, my cortisol was too high….meaning either I was stressed when they did the blood draw (which I was) and/or I needed to have more stress relief in my life.  Also, as expected, my body was screaming desperately for more thyroid hormone with a TSH of about 5.  This is from me, the person who went years with untreated symptoms with a TSH of 3 or so, which is considered normal, and whose TSH almost never becomes elevated.  My T3 levels were right in the middle of the range, but the T4 was at the very bottom of the range.  This isn’t surprising.  Nature-throid is made from pig thyroids, which have a higher T3/T4 ratio than what is produced by a healthy human thyroid.  So we made plans to add synthetic T4 to my Nature-throid to bring me into balance and bring me some relief.  

I was so relieved.  I knew adding some more hormone would eventually make me feel better, I just didn’t know how long it would take.  It’s been about two and a half weeks and little by little I think I feel improvements, especially since I have been off of work for almost two weeks (I go back the day after tomorrow).  Since the last time I recorded my weight and measurements, they are mostly the same, except I gained 2.5 inches on my waist.  I can tell it’s bloating from holiday indulgences and it should be gone soon.  

It’s time for me to climb back on the healthy eating and working out horse again.  If I don’t, I will stay feeling bad.  My cardio endurance still sucks, but if I don’t work at it, it won’t get better.  I at least have to do SOMETHING!  Tomorrow I start P90X2.  I made the commitment to do so before I had these issues the last couple of months and I will honor that commitment.  I have to admit I’m not exactly excited about it… but I AM excited about what it can do for my health and my body.  If you want good health, you have to do it.  Whether you want to or not.  I’m sure once I get back in the swing of things, I will feel better.  And I’m sure I will finish P90X2 stronger than I started it.            

Do you want to create healthy habits before the holidays?

Do you want to lose the weight you’ve been dying to get rid of?

Are you ready to get back in your skinny jeans?

THIS IS AN EASY WAY TO REACH YOUR GOALS.  As a Beachbody Coach who has expereince in Helping People reach their goals I will be here to help you every day of the challenge period, FOR FREE!!

Here’s the deal…I will be hosting TWO BeachBody Challenges, both starting in November!

Requirements:
1.  You will be replacing one meal a day with Shakeology (read my Shakeology review here)
2.  You will be committing to one of the following programs:  TurboJam or TurboFire

3.  You will post on the Group Page wall EVERY DAY

The groups will be limited to FIVE people only.  By doing this, you will create a bond with the other four doing the challenge with you.  It also allows me to be able to work more closely with you all.  It is extremely important that you all be fully committed to this challenge.  You will each be able to push each other and help motivate the group!  It is a proven fact that it takes 21 days to create a habit…what a better habit then exercise and good nutrition?!  Let me help steer you down that path for 60-90 days…

Here is my Challenge to you:

DECIDE you are ready to make a change in your life.
COMMIT to the program of your choice:  TurboJam or TurboFire
COMMIT to replacing one meal a day with Shakeology. Choice of Chocolate or Greenberry (Tropical coming in January)
COMMIT to a small group of people that will help keep you focused, motivated and energized for 90 days and CHECK in EVERY Day!

SUCCEED!!!

Contact me ASAP if you are interested in joining one of these challenges.

Jessica Kelts – Team Beachbody Fitness Coach

Message me: here

Website: http://jessicakelts.com or http://www.beachbodycoach.com/jesilynkelts

I must add that when I looked at these pictures yesterday, I was still not happy with what I saw.  But then…. I put them next to the pictures from two months ago.  And I was amazed at what I saw.  I know that my clothes are all looser and I had to buy smaller pants.  But it wasn’t until I put these pictures side by side that I realized what a difference I’d made in just 8 weeks.  Any of you thinking about starting a fitness program, PLEASE take before photos.  You may not want to look at them now, but imagine how great it will be to put them up next to your after photos, or even in this case, your “in progress” photos.  And with that, here are the photos.

From the front

From the Side

From the Back

For those of you curious about the statistics over the 8 weeks… this represents a loss of only 6.2 pounds because of the amount of muscle I put on lifting heavy weights.  Also, an inch and a half off of both my hips and my waist, half an inch off of each thigh, and a drop of 2.3 in my body fat percentage.  But none of those numbers truly express the difference in how my clothes fit me now!  That area between where you measure your hips and your waist?  That little pooch?  MUCH smaller now!  The area above my waist, where I had a nice layer of fat covering all the way around?  That’s much smaller, too!

So was it worth all of the work I’ve put in the last 8 weeks?  HELL YES!  And not just because I LOOK better but because I feel better and feel better about myself (even if at first I was still cringing at these photos).  And all of this muscle I’ve built?  It’s gonna burn TONS of calories, even while I’m asleep, which will help keep me healthy and help me lose even more weight. 

So what are YOU waiting for?  Are you ready to make a change in your life and start a program?  I want to pay this feeling of health and happiness forward to others by mentoring you through this.  I’m setting up small workout accountability groups for people that want to workout and get healthy and get RESULTS!  If you feel like joining me, please drop me a message here.  The current group I’ve started is TurboJam (http://tj.vid.jesilynkelts.com for a preview), but I’ll do other programs as well in the future so be sure to let me know if you want into one of the groups.   

Your future is WAITING!

Any of you that have spent any time at all on my blog know how I feel about Shakeology.  If you’ve read my Shakeology review, you know that I chose Shakeology after comparing it to the other shakes on the market and how much it’s improved my health and wellness.  It has definitely made my health better, even while living with ulcerative colitis and autoimmune thyroid disease.  I’ve taken the following post from BeachBody CEO Carl Daikeler’s blog because it underscores the attitude that the company has taken in their formulation of Shakeology.  It touches me that so much thought and effort went into it and I can DEFINITELY tell!  If you want to know even more, I always love to talk about it.  Just get at me here. 

The Big Shake-Off: Like Comparing Apples and… Tang

October 18th, 2011

How To Compare Shakeology

Or, “How Do I Really Know If This is Worth the Money When Everything Else Costs Less?”

There are many “protein shakes” and meal replacements that are less expensive than Shakeology. But  comparisons – based on the simple “protein shake” or even “health shake” are usually off the mark because of intangibles like quality of sourcing, efficacy, and the delicate balance of incredible health benefits and delicious flavor that is unique to Shakeology.

When we developed Shakeology, our goal was to fill a void in the marketplace where the benefits of the shake would live up to the promise of the line “The Healthiest Meal of the Day.”  Shakeology was designed for people who want more than protein, and for people who really expect  the health benefits being represented by the ingredients on the label. With Shakeology not only do you get what you pay for, but because it tastes so good and the attention to every detail is so complete, you get more than you pay for.

To really know whether a product measures up to Shakeology, you need to keep some things in mind:

How Much is “Enough”?

We are proud of Shakeology’s 70+ ingredients. Other shakes will trumpet the number of ingredients they have too. But are the ingredients they are counting actually good for you?

Are they derived from whole food sources? They are in Shakeology! Too often the “magic ingredient” has been isolated from the enzymes and phytonutrients which actually are what is needed to make the “magic ingredient” effective when consumed.

And does the competition formulate for the synergistic benefits between the ingredients, or just slap together whatever is hot in the media? Shakeology was specially formulated for the collection of ingredients to work together like a symphony; this combination is so effective some people report dramatic benefits within the first week. We’re not just talking about weight loss here, we’re talking meaningful health benefits; regularity, energy, vitality!

Other supplements point to one or two individual ingredients and build a “story” around their super food attributes…  that’s like saying you can put Michael Jordan on a team of amateurs and still have a championship caliber team. Shakeology’s specially selected ingredients work like the dream team, all working together so YOU get the health benefits from the healthiest meal of the day.

Vanilla?

If the shake you’re considering is vanilla, how do they achieve vanilla flavoring? Our research indicates that it is impossible for the superfoods, adaptogen herbs, anti-oxidants, phytonutrients and digestive enzymes to co-exist and taste good in a vanilla flavor, unless the vanilla flavor is achieved chemically and artificially. (It’s the “dirty little secret” of the flavoring industry even though labeling guidelines still allow this artificial flavoring  to be called “natural vanilla flavoring”) Other companies are willing to use that labeling loophole for their benefit. But not Shakeology.

So here’s the question; are you drinking the shake so you can enjoy vanilla, or so you can get the incredible health benefits from a shake that doesn’t taste like a “health drink”? We call Shakeology “the healthiest meal of the day” for a reason, and we plan on doing what it takes to live up to that.

Protein:

When it comes to comparing protein quality, you need to look closely to see the truth:

“Say NO to soy”

Does the competition use ANY soy in their formulation? Soy protein contains estrogen-mimicking compounds that can interfere with your hormones, and on top of that most of the soy in the marketplace is GMO (genetically modified), two important reasons why we don’t use soy in Shakeology.

It is our general opinion that many people are consuming too much soy in the pursuit of health – and thus perhaps producing too much estrogen which can cause many adverse issues in the body.  Do a little research of your own on the topic, and you will be as shocked as we are at what you will learn about soy.

Likewise, if a company is promoting that their protein is “more absorbable”, be careful. Protein sources like Whey Protein Hydrolysate have been shown to trigger a much higher insulin response in the body. That’s not an outcome we would tolerate in any health shake, much less Shakeology.

Our protein source is whey protein isolate, which is more than 90 percent pure protein. Plus, Shakeology is loaded with digestive enzymes-and lactase, that’s the enzyme that breaks down lactose and is found in over-the-counter products like Lactaid^®.  Don’t confuse whey protein concentrate with “isolate”. Whey protein concentrate is the least pure form of whey protein made. The benefits of “isolate” vs. “concentrate” is that the fat has been removed to achieve “isolate”. The fat in whey protein is what carries toxins consumed by the animal. That’s the reason Shakeology can be used by so many people who are lactose-intolerant – because those toxins have been removed through the isolate process.

We also look at the source of every single protein batch that shows up at the manufacturer.  If we find the manufacturer is cutting a corner by bringing in protein from farms that use hormones or are ok feeding inorganic materials to their cattle, we tell them to find another source.  This is the kind of scrutiny that other companies just don’t give their product, and it’s the kind of attention to detail which doesn’t show on the label. (But it does show in how you feel when you consume the product over the long term!)

Glycemic index tested…

In terms of sugar, many protein shakes have 1g of sugar or less. This is because they are using artificial chemical sweeteners (check the label for sucralose, aspartame, or sugar alcohols). Shakeology’s small amounts of sugar comes from natural sources which are easily processed by the body and in fact has been tested and certified by an independent lab to have a Low Glycemic Index of 24 – that’s lower than most fruits (an apple is 36 and an orange is 43)!

What is not in the base, they may suggest you add later:

Other shakes don’t cost as much as Shakeology at first glance, but they also don’t contain the full profile of  vitamins and minerals or whole-food sources of anti-oxidants, phytonutrients, adaptogen herbs, prebiotics, probiotics or digestive enzymes. We’ve seen competitors make you buy a separate vitamin pack for $150 per month! And if you want chocolate flavoring you have to buy a separate flavor packet for an extra $25 a month. If you want metabolism boosting effects and appetite control, you have to buy 2 additional products at $50 each. Once you add it up, this is hardly a “good deal” and it is usually questionably healthy..

To achieve the benefits of Shakeology we’ve seen competitors charge between $250 and $335 per month! $120 doesn’t seem expensive when you realize all of the benefits Shakeology delivers.

 

SUMMARY:

Formula: 70+ of the healthiest ingredients from whole food sources from around the world (including anti-oxidants, phytonutrients, adaptogen herbs, prebiotics, digestive enzymes, vitamins and minerals VS. protein, fillers, artificial coloring, and isolated glamour ingredients

Winner: Shakeology

 

Protein Source: Shakeology’s 15g of pure whey protein isolate plus 2g from plant sources VS soy, hydrolyzed whey and/or whey concentrate blend.

Winner: Shakeology

 

 

Taste: Rich chocolate or greenberry Shakeology Vs. chemically derived artificial-flavored competition?

Winner: Shakeology

 

Price: $120 for Shakeology  VS. Oops! It’s impossible to compare lesser formulations on price. But if you add in all the separate vitamins and flavoring agents the other companies ask you to buy to (try and) match the benefits and nutritional content of Shakeology, you would easily spend over $300 every month – that’s  2 ½ times the cost of Shakeology!  Sure, chocolate milk is cheaper than Shakeology. A vanilla soy shake can be cheaper than Shakeology – until you try to add what Shakeology’s got, and match what Shakeology can do for you, and then it’s no contest.

Winner: Shakeology

 

The best comparison is results. From weight loss and reduction in cravings, to regularity, to healthier cholesterol levels, to energy, to an overall sense of well being… We give a bottom-of-the-bag money-back guarantee on Shakeology because we KNOW people will be amazed at how they feel. Shakeology is the winner by a total knock out!

Speaking of knock outs, check out Katie F.’s full Shakeology success story here on Thursday!

Copyright 2011 – All rights reserved

The content on this site is protected by US and international copyright law.  Any copying, reproduction, or dissemination other than by Beachbody or active Team Beachbody Coaches without the express written consent of Beachbody, LLC or Carl Daikeler is strictly prohibited. Any unauthorized reproduction or distribution of any protected materials may result in civil and criminal penalties, and will be prosecuted to the maximum extent of the law.

So I have finally reached the end of the UltraMetabolism 8-week program. And the results are in – I’ve lost 12.8 pounds. This translates into 4 inches off of my waist and 3 inches off of my hips. I’ve gone from a slightly big size 12 to a “fits pretty good” size 6. I’ve gone from a score of 95 to a score of 15 on a list of symptoms representing toxicity in the body. And I’ve gone from feeling overly tired and, honestly, not in a very good mood most of the time, to most days having enough energy to actually do things at home after work and being in a good mood.

I have to admit that I had no idea I could change my body so much in the span of 2 short months. A part of me was sad that it took me so long. But a part of me is glad I did it now, while I’m still young enough to actually FEEL young again. But I realize now that I truly had to hit “rock bottom” as it was before I could make such drastic changes in my lifestyle. This happened right around Valentine’s Day in 2007. It was really a wake up call to me that I needed to take better care of myself or I would suffer forever. I found myself in a panic attack that lasted for days – I was so panicked that I was nauseous and couldn’t eat – but I could tell my low blood sugar was making the panic worse – but I could only manage to choke down vitamin water, bananas, and applesauce for nearly a week. I missed more than three full days of work. I was a mess. It was then, as I stared at the midday reruns of Dharma and Greg because I lacked the attention to even play on myspace or do ANYTHING, that I realized something had to change.

Even after that, it took about a month for me to be able to eat again without feeling like I was choking it down. My doc told me that it would be ok – it’s just the time of year – lots of people have a lot of mental issues in February and March every year. That advice from her prompted me to pull out my diary and poems from high school (hence why some of my blogs have entertained you with old love poems I wrote). And I found that every year, without fail, I could find that I would either write tons in my diary during this time or it would just be a blank time for months before I wrote something again. But the poems were the worst. So dark. So depressing. Tomes describing how I felt I was constantly trying to fight against my own body – feeling like it was all in my head and that I should be able to CONTROL this. Verses describing how I couldn’t tell ANYONE about this awful character flaw that I had and how I must hide it from everyone.

And it was in December of last year, as my doc was telling me to just take more Prozac cuz it’s winter and that will control my aches and pains and anxiety, that I realized that just popping pills wasn’t going to make me better. And I’m so glad I made the commitment to myself to get healthy. I don’t know if it was the fear of having another Valentine’s day breakdown (this year the day passed uneventfully, thankfully) or that I was just fed up with being unwell, but it doesn’t matter. I feel encouraged that I am on my way to better health.

I almost feel as if it’s my duty to share this story with everyone. Anyone who’s my friend knows I can talk forever about health stuff, but amazingly, now I’m telling the story of how I took my life back. I feel like I should be writing a book about my journey, my difficulties, and my victories. Not that I’m going to say I think this is “my calling” in life. But I will forever be an advocate.

 

Obviously since this time, I gained some, but not all, of that weight back and also started having digestive issues and was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.  I still value so much of what I learned from this book and recommend it to anyone having health issues.  And it did wonders for me.  My advocacy for BeachBody is a result of me finding them when I really needed them.  Since starting on Shakeology, I have been able to drop some weight (along with exercise) and discontinue many of my drugs (as detailed in this Shakeology review).  As an update to that post, I’ve been completely off of my prozac for a month now.  And while I have a cold right now, I’m not depressed.    I keep telling my friends about BeachBody products because I believe they will HELP them.  Why would I recommend something that didn’t work for me?  The proof is there for everyone to see.  And not just for me but in the stories of all of the people I have met since joining this business.  Why are people surprised when they hear that better nutrition has a huge impact on someone’s health and wellness?  It makes perfect sense to me.  If you put crappy fuel in, you get crap out.

Hi everyone.  Soon I will be off for a weekend teaching conference in beautiful Traverse City, Michigan.  But first I’d lake to share with you a recipe that I made this week.  As I’ve learned to nourish myself better and come to know the value of better nutrition on my health and wellness, I’ve made more and more and more soup.  This is the second soup that I’ve made with my own home made chicken broth and it is delicious .  It’s from one of my favorite books on nutrition and healing, “Ultrametabolism” by Dr. Mark Hyman.  That book changed my life and I still use many recipes from it on a regular basis.

This easy, quick, creamy soup contains no cream, just puréed chickpeas, which lend a smooth richness of their own. The soup thickens as it sets, so you may need to add a little water when reheating.

Ingredients:

It took a huge amount of effort on my part to even get diagnosed with thyroid disease – something you would think would be quite easy to spot.  In my case, I had all of the symptoms of thyroid disease, but my TSH was normal, so I could never get treatment.  It was several depressing years trying to hold it together knowing that something was wrong with me and just visiting doctor after doctor that could tell me nothing.  Through this time I had repeated sinus and urinary tract infections, took tons of antibiotics (which is awful for you, sigh).  Little did I know that a lot of this was due to my thyroid condition.  I just suspected that was my problem. 

Everyone I knew thought that I was crazy.  Why would I think I had a thyroid problem when my blood tests didn’t say so?  Well, it was the hundreds of (mostly) women on the thyroid support groups telling their stories that sounded just like mine.  And the doctor that said to me, after measuring my ankle reflex and counting a full three seconds before my foot kicked, “Wow, before we had blood tests you definitely would have been diagnosed hypothyroid already”.  And the nurse that told me, “Listen, it’s obvious that your thyroid is failing.  But I can’t treat you until your T4 number drops another 0.1 points”.  And the nurse practitioner in the women’s clinic that told me that I sounded exactly like her but that she wasn’t authorized to prescribe thyroid drugs…. only birth control and antibiotics.

This was all happening while working on my doctorate degree at Purdue with doctors and nurses at the student health center (PUSH).  I finally went out on my own to an alternative doctor/chiropractor who diagnosed me and put my on time released T3.  It was not the perfect solution for me but it was SOMETHING.  Turns out, once that expensive doctor that my insurance didn’t cover put me on the drug, the others were willing to tinker with it.  In the time since then, I’ve been on synthroid and levoxyl (both synthetic T4 drugs), Armour thyroid (natural thyroid made from pig thyroids), and cytomel (a synthetic T3 drug).  I didn’t take all of these drugs at the same time, but sometimes I was taking two of them together.    I probably FELT the best on Armour thyroid but I had difficulty finding a doctor that was knowledgable about using it and adjusting dosages correctly. 

Fast forward to now, when I’ve found the doctor I’m working with now, whom I drive an hour to Ann Arbor to see.  Under her guidance and after using Shakeology every day, after 9.5 months, I’ve dropped all of my drugs except thyroid drugs (which I will always need), my ulcerative colitis drug, and the pill (I’ve also dropped about 15 pounds or so, depending on what time of day I weigh myself).  I’ve recently even managed to get off of Prozac and I’m happy to report that I’m perfectly fine without it.  However, after dropping all of these drugs, I have to report that I started to feel a bit hypothyroid.  I needed more sleep and felt exhausted.  I started noticing that I couldn’t walk up two flights of stairs without being breathless and I work out all the time!  Only two things usually cause those things with me, anemia or low thyroid.  Since I take a good amount of iron every day, I contacted my doctor about my thyroid.  It was her that suggested I start on the Nature-throid and I’m really hoping it works for me! 

I understand that there will be an adjustment period as I get used to the new medication and I’m prepared for that.  I am determined to stick to my ChaLean Extreme workout schedule and hopefully not lose any more of my cardio endurance!  I will keep you guys updated.  And please, if you think you might have a thyroid problem, it’s worth investigation!  Life was awful before I was diagnosed and a lot of cases are much more straight forward than mine.  Your thyroid hormones control the speed at which your metabolism works and that can change a lot of your biological processes.