Did you know that you can win cash prizes just for submitting your results using Beachbody workouts and Shakeology? Seriously! Once a month, you can send in your before and after photos to be entered into the Beachbody Challenge contest. Every day (Yes! Every day!) one winner is chosen to win $500! From those $500 daily winners, winners are chosen monthly to win $1,000, then quarterly to win $2,500... and then once a year at the annual Beachbody Coach Summit, two winners (one male and one female) are chosen to win $100,000 each, and the runner ups go home with $25,000 each! We've already had a couple winners on our team, too. Both Herb and Melanie won $500 each for sending in their winning transformations! 

We even have a teammate who went on to be one of the finalists at Beachbody Coach Summit and ended up coming home with $25,000 after losing over 90 lbs with P90X!! 

So how do YOU enter?? It's easy! 

1. Log in to your Team Beachbody account
2. Scroll aaaalllllllll the way down to the bottom
3. Look for the Success Stories on the bottom right and click on Submit your Story
4. Fill out the questions and upload your photos (Note: if you get an error uploading your photos, try making them smaller and trying again)
5. Beachbody will send you a free shirt for the workout you completed and you'll be automatically entered into the Beachbody Challenge to win cash prizes!

You can submit your results once a month. Super easy! And another great way to help keep you on track with your goals!

If you need extra help staying accountable with your goals, be sure to reach out! I'm always running monthly challenge groups on facebook to help people stay on track and I'm only a facebook message or email away! 

We have ANOTHER $500 daily winner on Team Synergy!!! I can't say enough how proud of Melanie I am. She is a busy flight attendant, coach and newlywed, who despite being away from home for stretches of time still manages to get her workouts in and take control of her nutrition. No excuses! These are Melanie's winning results from doing the Ultimate Reset 21-day cleanse 2 months ago! 

"Before I did the Ultimate Reset, I felt sluggish, bloated, and just very uncomfortable. I felt weighed down. Totally bloated like a blob. I'm a coach, so I was active enough, and I eat relatively healthy enough, but I just kept losing—and gaining—the same 7 pounds. My weight loss hit a plateau, and I was tired of putting in the workout effort without seeing results. 

Plus, I just couldn’t catch up on my rest. I would fall asleep pretty fast, but I could never seem to get a good night’s sleep. Luckily, a bunch of the other coaches had mentioned that they did the Beachbody Ultimate Reset and got awesome results. When they told me that they tried it because they were experiencing the same problems I had—low energy, irregular digestion, poor sleeping patterns—I started thinking about giving the Ultimate Reset a try.

Luckily, a Reset Challenge Group was just getting started, so I said, ‘why not’ and joined. I knew a Challenge Group would help me stay accountable and give me the chance to work with other people going through the Reset at the same time. (I can’t tell you how much it helped to have 5 friends for the 21 days.)

Over the course of the Reset, I started to feel a lot more energized—almost from the beginning—with natural energy that seemed to be constant, with no ups or downs. I was feeling a lot less sluggish and noticed that I was sleeping more solid through the entire night. And yes, my “regularity” improved, too. I started to feel much lighter and a whole lot less bloated.

That was a relief, but I also started to see the definition in my body that the bloating had hidden. That was definitely a turning point for me. I finally lost those pounds I kept losing and gaining, and I was able to lose an additional 6 inches, as well.

Since completing the Reset, I feel totally revitalized. I’m ready to add a new workout program and I’m ready to keep losing more weight now that I know a better way to eat clean. I’m excited. Before doing the Reset, I ate what tasted good. Now I know what my body needs as fuel, and I have now found new foods to fuel me properly that taste great too. 

In fact, I feel so much better that I plan to do an annual Reset every year to make sure my body—and my metabolism—are running optimally."

If you're interested in taking control of your health and joining our next challenge group, sign up here! 

Still trying to get in shape for summer? There's still time! You'll be bikini ready in no time with these AMAZING Summer Sizzler sales! These are available for a VERY limited time only, and once they're gone, THEY'RE GONE!

Because of these incredible deals, we'll be running another Ultimate Reset Challenge Group for the entire month of June. The Ultimate Reset is an amazing nutrition program that takes you through 21 days of clean eating and natural supplements to help your body naturally detox, and to help you learn how to eat properly. It's been so effective at helping people reduce their weight, cholesterol levels and blood sugar levels that it's even been published in a medical journal. 

Not sure what a Challenge Group is? A Challenge Group is a free, private, facebook group made up of other people doing the same workout or nutrition program as yourself. It's a place to go for support, motivation and any questions you may have. People who are in Challenge Groups are 20% more likely to stick to a program (and I actually believe that number is a lot higher!) and they also experience better results! 

And, it just keeps getting better! For the ENTIRE month of June, Les Mills Combat Challenge Packs are on sale for $20 off. That gets you one month of Shakeology (the healthiest meal of the day!), one month of Club Membership (which gives you access to Eat Smart, an online nutrition planner), the Les Mills Combat workout and FREE shipping! That's a total savings of over $70 if you were to buy everything separately!

Make this the summer you vow to ditch the cover-up at the beach! Please email us asap if you have any questions. These deals are going to go fast!

Curious about Challenge Groups? A lot of you have probably seen either Scott or myself posting on facebook or Instagram about our Challenge groups, but you might not be sure what exactly they are. So, I'm here to explain them to you... and just in time for January.. our HUGE month of Challenge Groups!

People who participate in Challenge Groups have 20% better results and are more likely to stick with their workout program than those who don't. Why??? Support, Motivation and Accountability! 

Challenge Groups are small, private facebook accountability groups made up of people who are all doing the same workout or nutrition program. Their privacy is set to "secret" which not only means that no one outside of the group can see what goes on inside the group, it means that the groups won't even show up in searches and none of your facebook friends will even know they exist.

They are made up of about 5-10 people who all have one goal in mind, to get healthy! 

Challenge Groups are free to join, you only pay for your workout program and Shakeology!

Participants are asked to check in daily by posting their workouts, questions, struggles, highs and lows, and Scott and I and the other Team Legacy coaches will be there to help you every step of the way. Great friendships have been formed in these groups as the groups almost become a second family!

If you're thinking of joining one of our Challenge Groups don't wait any longer! Spots are filling up fast. 

90 days from now you will be glad you did!

Here's how it went down... About 8 weeks ago Scott came to me and said, "I'm going to run the Rochester Marathon this year". We really hadn't been running much this summer except for a handful of 5k's, and as super human as, I still thought he was crazy. I knew I was out. I was about to start the Ultimate Reset where I wouldn't be able to workout for 3 weeks. No training and no runs mean no marathon for me, and I was more than happy to go as a spectator.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. It was the annual Toronto Vegetarian Food Festival and we drove up for our 3rd year in a row. This year we were excited to get to see Rich Roll speak. For those of you who don't know, Rich Roll is a vegan ultra marathoner and ultra triathlete. He has overcome amazing obstacles in his life and didn't even get back in the training scene until he was 40 years old. He has a new book out called Finding Ultra and as we watched him speak that night it was hard not to leave motivated. 

So what do I do? I sign up for a 1/2 marathon from my phone in the car on the way home... and it's in 2 weeks. I was going to run the Rochester 1/2 Marathon while Scott did the full. I had done 1/2 marathons before, this was going to be my 5th, but I had trained for all the others. I hadn't ran more than 3 miles since the Buffalo Marathon this past May, and I hadn't run at all in almost a month because of the Ultimate Reset, but I had it all figured out. I was going to get in four good runs, a 3-miler, a 5-miler, a 7-miler and a 10-miler. Perfect! 

Well, I should have known, nothing ever goes as planned. The day of the 1/2 marathon comes and I had done 2 runs, just the 3-miler and the 5-miler. I was already signed up so I figured I'd just go and limp through it and try to enjoy it as much as I could. 

The morning of the Rochester Marathon Scott's GPS watch took it's final breath. Perfect timing. I gave my GPS watch to Scott since he was actually trained and running for a good time, and I was going to run with my iPhone. I had a little over an hour on the drive to Rochester to get my phone ready with a playlist and to make sure I had a running app that would work. 

Scott took off at 7:30am with the other runners doing the full marathon, and I was off and running 15 minutes later with the rest of the 1/2 marathoners. I was one mile into it and feeling pretty good.... and then it hit me... I have my iPhone... I can Instagram! Instagram is my newest little addiction (and if you'd like to follow me I'm @juliehendersonfitness). So it began, while running I snapped a shot of the crowd in front of me and along with a slew of others, I hashtagged #mile1. Two miles later, #mile3. I did this every mile or two until I realized... I seriously only have about 3 miles to go! I was having so much fun running while Instagraming that it totally took my mind off the race! I took a picture of my shadow while running on the towpath of the Erie Canal, of a guy in a gorilla suit with a blue cape cheering on the crowd, even the winner of the full marathon passing me at mile 13. 

While it was one of my slowest 1/2's ever (only faster than my 1st 1/2) it was one of the most fun 1/2's I've ever done and I was surprisingly walking much better than most after. I'm still not sure how I pulled it off and still felt so good, but I can only imagine it's from a combo of (mostly) clean eating and just coming off of the Ultimate Reset. 

As for Scott? In true Scott super human fashion he PR'd (Personal Record) his previous full marathon time by a few minutes and finished strong in under 4 hours! 

Q: Are you eating real food?
A: Yes! This is not a cleanse where you are only drinking cayenne pepper and maple syrup and it's not a juice fast. You will be eating a whole-food, mostly plant-based, clean eating diet. The recipes in the Ultimate Reset are simple, yet delicious! Don't believe me? Just check out these actual pictures I took of the food I ate when I did the Reset!

Q: Will I be hungry while doing the Reset?
A: The portions are surprisingly larger than than you would expect for a cleanse, but you are not leaving each meal feeling full or stuffed. This may be a new feeling to you if you're used to eating to maximum capacity. For me, it made me realize what true hunger felt like. It also made me realize how often I eat without thought and how much I ate when I was bored, tired and "just because". I physically had enough food, but mentally it took some getting used to. 

Q: Is the food expensive?
A: Yes and No. The first week a good portion of the shopping list is made up of staples; olive, sesame and coconut oils, Bragg's liquid amino acids, miso, three different vinegars, quinoa, millet, rice cereal, spices, nuts, seeds, etc. These are things that you need for the Reset, but that will also last you much longer than the 21 days and become staples in your cupboard. I was fortunate enough to have a few of them on hand already, but if you don't have any to start they can quickly add up. After the first week, the shopping lists are mostly fresh fruit and vegetables, so it's not as bad. Don't forget, during the Reset you're also not going to be going out to dinner, picking up fast food for lunch, stopping for happy hour drinks, or buying your usual coffee or latte in the mornings. Those are things that add up quickly so you may find you are actually saving money doing the Reset. But seriously, even if it is more expensive, it's for your HEALTH so it's TOTALLY worth it!

Q: What kind of results can I expect?
A: Everyone's results are going to be different, but common results of the Ultimate Reset are weight loss, increased energy, decreased cholesterol and blood pressure, decrease in cellulite, better digestion, improved sleep patterns, improved allergies, clearer skin, better mental clarity, more stable blood sugar levels, stronger immune system and decreased inflammation and arthritis. The Ultimate Reset will soon be cited in a peer-reviewed medical journal for it's efficacy in addressing cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes. Here are my personal results from the Ultimate Reset. 

Q: Can I have caffeine or smoke while doing the Ultimate Reset?
A: No. The point of the Reset is to rid your body of toxins, so ingesting toxins while doing the Reset would be counterproductive. During the Reset you are aiming to bring your body back to an alkaline state and coffee is very acidic. You may experience a headache for the first few days if you are used to drinking coffee, but by the end of the 21 days you will find that you no longer need the caffeine boost and that your energy levels are actually higher without it.

Q: Can I workout while on the Reset?
A: No. While on the Reset you want to give your body a break to let it rest and repair itself from the inside out. Exercise causes a break down of muscles and a build up of lactic acid. If you workout while on the Reset your body will be spending it's time repairing tissue and flushing out lactic acid instead of healing and repairing itself.

Q: I'm already vegan, but I see the first week of the Reset has meat and dairy. Can I make substitutions? 
A: Yes! Once you purchase the Ultimate Reset you can log on to www.ultimatereset.com and there you will find the vegan meal plan for week 1 of the Reset. Weeks 2 and 3 are already vegan so there is no need to adjust either of those weeks. Click here for the updated vegan shopping list for week 1. I was vegan prior to doing the Reset so I can personally help you make the necessary adjustments during the first week.

Q: Can I make my meals in advance?
A: Yes. I made most of my meals the night before. That way when I woke up in the morning I just had to grab my food and head to work. This planning ahead was the key to my success with the Ultimate Reset. 

Q: What are in the supplements?
A: During the Reset you will be taking 6 supplements; Mineralize, Oxygenize, Optimize, Alkalinize, Detox and Revitalize. Some you will be taking for the entire 21 days, some for just one phase of the Reset.

• Mineralize is pure crystal salt and contains up to 84 natural minerals and elements. It is added to your drinking water every day during the Reset.
  
• Oxygenize is a source of supplemental oxygen. It comes in a dropper bottle and is taken 3 times a day before meals for the entire cleanse. 
  
• Optimize is a blend of enzymes that you take 3 times a day before meals for every phase of the Reset.
  
• Alkalinize is a greens powder that helps bring your body back to a healthy pH. It is mixed with water and drank once a day every day of the Reset.
  
• Detox is a mix of fiber-rich seeds, herbs and bentonite clay which is used to draw toxins out of the colon. It is mixed with water and taken three times daily during Phase 2.
  
• Revitalize is a probiotic and prebiotic which is taken 3 times daily before meals during the last phase of the Reset.
  

Q: Do I continue taking supplements after the Reset?
A: Whether you decide to continue with the supplements after the Reset is up to you. You may decide to continue taking just one supplement, all six, or any combo of them. Each supplement has dosage instructions for both during the Reset and for maintenance. 

Q: Does the Ultimate Reset come with support?
A: Yes! I will be there to guide you along the way and answer any questions. I will also add you to a facebook group with other people who are also doing the Reset. You will not be doing this alone! 

Q: What do I do before and after the Reset?
A: Before the Reset you should start cutting back on your use of coffee, alcohol and processed foods. This will make the transition into the Reset easier. After the Reset you will want to slowly start reintroducing foods back into your diet over the course of the next few weeks, starting with grains the first week, beans the second week, and animal products the third and fourth weeks, if you decide to add them back in at all.

Q: Can I drink Shakeology while on the Reset?
A: Only vegan Shakeology can be used while on the Reset and only using these approved recipes. 

• Phase 1: 1 scoop in place of breakfast
  
• Phase 2: 1/2 scoop in place of breakfast
  
• Phase 3: 1/2 scoop in place of snack

Personally, I didn't use Shakeology during the Reset. While Shakeology is minimally processed and considered a raw food, I wanted to eat as many whole foods as possible during the cleanse. I added vegan Shakeology back into my diet the first day post-Reset. Whether you chose to use Shakeology during your Reset or not is your personal choice.

Q: It's Day 12 and I just ate the Mediterranean Roasted Beets. Is my pee supposed to be this color?
A: Yes! I grew up eating canned beets, but I remember the first time I ever ate them fresh. The first thing I did was run to the computer and Google "beet pee". And just wait till Day 14. Beet poo.

Goals during and after the Ultimate Reset:

• Eat as many raw, fresh, chemical-free, unprocessed foods as possible
• Breathe as much fresh air as you can
• Drink plenty of good-quality water
• Chew your food thoroughly
• Remove or reduce stress from all the areas of your life that you can
• Get out into nature
• Make healthy choices a habit
• Find time to do what you love
• Laugh more
• Give thanks

To think that only 21 days can have such an impact on your life, your health and how you look and feel is CRAZY! There were ups and downs, but overall I am SO happy I did the Ultimate Reset, I couldn't be happier with my results, and I am already looking forward to doing it again after the new year! Here are some of my results! (and remember, this was only 21 days, NO working out, just clean eating and healthy supplements): 

• lost 8.6 lbs (from 138.6 lbs to 130.0 lbs)
• lost 2% body fat (from 21.5% to 19.5%)
• total cholesterol dropped 12 points (from 151 to 139)
• glucose levels dropped 8 points (from 86 to 78)
• improved sleep
• less puffy and stiff in joints, especially knees
• reduced/eliminated cravings, especially for sugar
• day 12 I noticed a new glow to my compexion
• almost immediately on day 1 I had a great reduction in bloating and gas from taking the Optimize

And if that weren't enough.... take a look at my before and after pictures! (I'm a little sleepy in my after's, this was taken about 30 seconds out of bed!)

If you're like me you've probably never heard of jicama before, or if you have, you've probably walked past it in the grocery store thinking, "what is that?", "who eats that?" and "what do they do with it?" When it turned up on the Ultimate Reset shopping list for not one, not two, but all three weeks I knew I was about to find out!

Surprisingly, it was easy to find and available at both of my local grocery stores so someone out there must be eating it!

So what is jicama? First off, it's pronounced HEE-kah-mah... but I didn't find this out until after I was calling it Ji-kah-mah, so now the real pronunciation sounds funny to me. It's also called a "yam bean" or "Mexican turnip". Originating from Mexico and South America, jicama is a root vegetable with a papery brown cover and a crisp, white inside like a potato or apple. It is from the legume family and grows on vines that can reach up to 20' in length. Only the root should be eaten as the rest of the plant is very poisonous, and they must be peeled before eating.

Jicama is made up of 85-90% water, is high in carbohydrates and dietary fiber, and has only trace amounts of fat and protein. It's rich in vitamins A, C and B, calcium and phosphorus. One cup of cubed jicama contains only 45 calories. It has a mellow, sweet flavor and is usually eaten raw and paired with lemon or lime juice, chili powder, cilantro, ginger or red onion. It is also common in Asian dishes. It gets it's sweet flavor from a prebiotic called oligofructose inulin. 

Jicama can be stored dry for 1-2 months at 53°- 60°F and will last for a few days in the refrigerator after being peeled. When choosing jicama, select roots that are roughly 3-4 lbs as larger roots can be woody.

During the Ultimate Reset, jicama turned up in almost all of the salad recipes as a diced vegetable, and also in one of my favorite recipes, the Jicama Avocado Salad from Day 20's lunch. However you decide to pronounce it, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did!

Jicama Avocado Salad

1/2 tsp Himalayan salt
1 Tbsp agave nectar
juice of 1 lime
1 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 avocado, ripe but firm, cut into chunks
1/2 medium jicama root, peeled and sliced into thin matchsticks (I cubed it instead)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Mix all ingredients and let marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Serve over 3 cups of salad greens.
Serves 1.

Everyone's heard of the Master Cleanse where you drink nothing but water with cayenne pepper and maple syrup, or the Cabbage Soup Diet or the juice fast or all the others on the market so it's not surprising that the #1 question I was getting asked while doing the Ultimate Reset was, "So what are you eating?" Well, here's the answer!

Just a quickie here to talk about the importance of planning ahead when it comes to sticking to your meal plan and fitness goals. It's Day 20 of the Ultimate Reset and I can't stress enough how important prepping my meals ahead of time has been. I'd say I made about 75% of my lunches the night before instead of making them in the morning before work. This would save me a ton of time in the morning, I'd just have to grab and go. 

Here's my lunch on Day 17, Moroccan Carrot Salad over mixed greens. I made the carrot salad the night before and put it in one container, cut up the veggies for my salad and put them in another container and the next morning all I had to do was stop on the way to work to pick up a bag of salad. 

This was also my only day on the Reset that I screwed up with the meal plan. The carrot salad was supposed to be eaten over mixed greens, but I put it over the microgreen salad. No biggy, but it means I ended up eating 1/3 cup of nuts/seeds that I shouldn't have. I figure though since I haven't been doing all of the optional snacks and I cut down the oil used for dinner this day that it will all work out in the end. I'm more upset only because I really wanted to do this 100%. Either way, I couldn't be happier with my results and how far I've come in just a short 20 days!

"If you fail to plan you plan to fail".