I finished my third month of using the Team BeachBody Ten Minute Trainer (TMT) workout this week. The company is always sponsoring one of those fitness challenges and they were doing a TMT-specific contest so I decided to submit my results. I'll at least get a free t-shirt out of it and maybe even a trip to Los Angeles to meet Tony Horton. In order to enter the contest, you have to write an essay and submit photos and measurements. I'm sharing my story here with the goal of inspiring others that may read this. I've also recently become an Independent Team BeachBody Coach and am learning more about the health and fitness products the company creates. If anyone is interested in learning more, please check out my Coach website at http://beachbodycoach.com/esuite/home/drsteph01 and feel free to contact me with any questions.
Here's my essay:
My name is Stephanie Mont. I’m 35 years old and a wife, mother to a 4-year old daughter, and Soldier. I am currently an active duty Army officer stationed in Germany. I started 2011 desperate to finally gain control over my fitness and overall health. Even though staying fit and meeting a certain weight standard are a requirement for my career, I struggled for the last ten years with doing that easily. Even more aggravating is the fact that I am a veterinarian and work in the public health field within the military. I am well versed in how to eat healthy and know that regular exercise is a must. However, I rarely applied that knowledge to my own lifestyle very well.
I began the year trying a variety of the same types of diets (Nutrisystem) and fitness routines that had semi-worked in the past. I thought that if I just had more will power I could break through and finally reach my goals. Those goals were to establish a permanently healthy lifestyle, set a good example for my young daughter, maintain a healthy weight and body fat percentage, be able to easily pass my Army Physical Fitness Test and run my two miles in less than 19 minutes. By April I was only able to say that I easily passed my PT test, but my run time was still over 19 minutes. I set my initial weight loss goal to lose about 15-20 pounds.
Two years earlier, in January 2009, I purchased the Ten Minute Trainer Deluxe Edition
after seeing an infomercial. I think I only did one or two of the workouts and the videos ended up sitting in a box along with the resistance bands. I can’t remember why I never gave the program a chance, but at least I held onto everything. In June 2011, an old friend from high school that I had re-connected with via Facebook, Wade Bond, started posting a lot of fitness and health tips on his page. I noticed he was doing the Insanity program, drinking Shakeology, seeing weight loss results, and had become an Independent Team Beachbody Coach. Wade is also in the military and is married with two young children. He started an on-line fitness group, Team Angry Bear, and invited me to participate. I did. At first, I was just using it to make sure that I was accountable to someone else for completing my workouts, mostly running and some circuit training with weights. Then I felt left out because most of the group members were doing P90X, Insanity, or TurboFire. So I decided to pull the Ten Minute Trainer program out of its box.
I took my before photos in late June and I started the program on July 8th. My goal was to follow the accelerated results plan and do three sessions six days a week and one session on the 7th day. I still had quite a bit of Nutrisystem food on my shelf so I decided to use those meals for about 50% of my meals and then focus on eating whole grains, lots of fruits and vegetables, healthy fats, lean meats, and low-fat dairy. I also had a couple containers of a GNC Meal Replacement Shake. I used MyFitnessPal to track my calorie intake and set my plan to try and lose between one and two pounds each week.
I started out well with my plan. I loved how easily I could fit these workouts into my day. I could either get up early before waking my daughter or do them after work while my daughter played. At first she would even mimic some of the moves I was working on. I also enjoyed the variety of the workouts; cardio mixed with strength training, abdominal, and flexibility work. I found the workouts challenging at first, but with each week, I improved. I felt stronger. I could see my clothes fitting better. Within the first month, I faced a real challenge with my schedule when on July 21st I found out that grandmother died. I was on a plane headed to Pennsylvania within a few days and knew I would be there for about two weeks. I packed my TMT videos and resistance bands.
In the past, when traveling I would say I was going to workout and eat well. I most always failed. This trip was different. I had an on-line support group with Team Angry Bear. I knew that if I was having problems, I could turn to them for help. I made it through this sad time in my life with my family, but was able to keep sight of my goals. I did not gain any weight; I even lost a couple pounds during those two weeks away from home. I did that without depriving myself of comfort foods like ice cream and pizza. I just made sure I ate those in moderation.
I returned home in early August and started a second round of TMT. I was wearing a
smaller size in my military uniform and people at work were starting to notice my weight loss. I also bought a heart rate monitor. I heard about the TMT Challenge and Coach Wade encouraged me to enter. Some days I did miss my scheduled workouts, but I made sure that I doubled up to keep up with the overall 28-day schedule. I logged all my workouts in the WOWY SuperGym and connected with other Team Beachbody members. I found this support so helpful in making sure that I never lost sight of my goals.
In September, I started a third round of TMT and increased the resistance band I
used during the workouts. With Wade’s encouragement, I also decided to become an
Independent Team Beachbody Coach and ordered Shakeology. At the end of this 90-day
journey with the Ten Minute Trainer, I find myself 16 pounds lighter. I have lost 13 inches from my waist, hips, chest, and thighs and am down to 26.5% body fat from 32%. I ran a 9/11 Memorial 10K Race in just under an hour. I can wear size 8 or size 6 pants for the first time in over 15 years. I have so much more energy and my outlook on the every day stresses of my career and family obligations are much more positive. Later this month, I know I will easily pass my physical fitness test and now my goal is to run the two miles in under 18 minutes!
The Ten Minute Trainer, Coach Wade Bond, and the other members of Team Angry Bear
have helped me get on track and discover success in establishing a healthier lifestyle. I plan on moving onto some other Team Beachbody programs and look forward to helping others in the future. Thank you Team Beachbody!
Stephanie Mont
aka drsteph01
Starting weight: 159
Current weight: 143
Starting Body Fat: 32%
Current Body Fat: 26.5%
And the photos...
Me this past weekend, wearing skinny jeans and black boots that I bought six months ago...and can finally wear!!
