Why Wait Challenge!

Why Wait 'till January?  Let's start now!

I'm not waiting until January to work on my fitness and nuttirtion goals!  I've actually already started!  I'm putting today a challenge to fight the holiday weight gain!  I committed to this a few years ago and lost 9 lbs between Thanksgiving and Christmas and I'm determined to do it again!  

So why not join me?  We've got 3 amazing Challenge packs on sale till the 30th!  Pick 21 Day Fix, 21 Day Fix Extreme or Cize then add you favorite flavors (or flavors) of Shakeology and let's do this together!  I'm starting Monday, November 30th and with Beachbody's new On Demand (BOD) you can get started even if your package don't arrive on time!  

What?  Yep!  Just stream the workout from you laptop, desktop, tablet, computer or smart tv or even your Roku box or Kindle Fire Stick!  Coming soon to Apple TV's latest device as well!

21 Day Fix and 21 Day Fix Extreme include a rotation of 7 different daily 30 minute workouts done in a 3 week period and come with a complete nutrition guide and our portion control containers and you even wine and chocolate are factored in!  Plus you get a free insulated lunch bag! There are modifiers in each of these workouts!  When you finish your round and submit your results you also earn a free T-shirt! 

Don't like to lift?  Well then Dance with Cize!  Shaun T takes you through a 30-40 minute dance class and breaks down the choreography so even I can get the steps then you do the dance 3 times through at the end of it!  You'll know every song and I guarantee you will channel your inner Beyonce!  This month we are also including our portion control container and meal plan!  Submit your results and receive a pair of Cize knee socks!  

Not only do you get fitness & nutrition but you get me as your free coach to help motivate and support you! I'll be in the trenches with you, because I'll be doing Cize with a few Fix workouts through in during the week and I"m so excited to have you doing it with me!  Plus I will have a private group so you can surround yourself with like minded individuals who will be having the same highs and lows as you will!  

Both of these programs have been on sale a lot this past year and there's no telling if they will be again anytime in the first half of 2016!  Remember you have a 30 day end of the bag money back guarantee on Shakeology and the workout if you don't like them, so really what do you have to lose?

Please fill out the form below or if you're ready to jump in click the link to order the program of your choice! 

Fill out my online form.

Click the video to find out how you can join my 21 Day Do It With me Group and let's get healthy before the holidays not after! 

Failure is an option!

I love this quote by J.K. Rowling!  Someone who knows a lot about failure...and success!  It's not always easy to admit to yourself that you've failed at something.  I don't know I guess at my age I come to expect it.  Instead of seeing it as a negative (well, almost always) I try to look at the positives of the situation and I try to ask myself "what have you learned from this?"

We all fail!  The key is to keep re-engineering it until you get a result that far exceeds your expectation! How can you do that?  How about forming a mini think tank with like minded people for starters.  Ask if they've tried the same things and failed or succeeded. If they were successful then figure out what was the missing link or the flaw in your plan.  

Another thing that's great to try is have a test group! Gather your family and friends who meet the parameters of who you want to target.  Give them your best pitch and find out what they loved and hated about it and what you can change to make it better! 

What works for me has been to be your own spokes person.  Live what you love and show the world what it's done for you.  There will be those who will be jealous or annoyed but do not let them deter you from your dreams!  When you do what you love you'll never have to work another day in your life they say. 

I've been building, and rebuilding my Beachbody Coaching business since 2007.  It took me a few years to even believe in myself.  I thought in the beginning that I needed to be at the end of my journey in order to be successful at it.  Well, I was wrong!  There was so many people out there who were waiting to hear my story!  Just by posting everyday about how I didn't want to get up and do my morning workout because my joint were killing me from my Sjogren's Syndrome but I got up and pushed through and felt so much better when I was done.  I'd check my social media sites and see that I was able to inspire other people with auto-immune issues to get up and move and people who were in great shape but having a bad day tell me that I inspired them to get up and move because they had no excuse is exactly why I do what I do! 

Now as my team is growing I have all ages, male and female.  Some that have health issues and some that don't and we all bring something to the table and we all lift each other up when we are on the bring of failure.

It doesn't matter what you enjoy just keep doing it! Someone out there is waiting to be inspired by your story, even if failure is a big part of it! 

Find your People and You'll Find Success!

It was 2005 when I first found Beachbody I was 323 pounds, I was broken!  Depressed, friendless, living where I didn't want to be, angry and completely devoid of any self esteem!   I'd be up all night pigging out and watching tv.  I'd get the kids really for school, walk Steph to the bus then crawl back in bed till it was time to pick up her up.  

Every night is see this little blonde dancing and kicking and screaming "you're not tired!" That infomercial haunted me for months!  Finally Chalene Johnson was just too cute to say no to and I bought Turbo Jam.   A few days later It arrived!  I opened the box took the first DVD and popped it in the machine.  I got about 7 minutes into the workout and thought I was going to have a heart attack on the spot!  

Popped out the DVD and threw the whole box in the closet in disgust!  A few months later while going through my checking account I saw a charge, it was the Beachbody Club.  Instead of calling customer service and cancelling it I got on computer and starting to poke around.  

It was there I found my coach Melanie Bolen, & Michelle Draper (who has become my BFF) just to name a few.  All who starting telling me I could accomplish anything I'd wanted I just had to take the first steps! One was deciding that maybe TurboJam wasn't for me and maybe another workout would be more suited to my taste and skill level and I found that in Slim In 6!  I stuck with it and lost 20 lbs!  Then I went back to TurboJam and not only conquered the workout I lost another 20lbs! 

Then in July 2007 Melanie, Bryan and Michelle convinced me to attend a weekend long camp with P90X trainer Tony Horton.  I was scared to death to be around him and the other "fit" people but I have to say that was one of the most empowering weekend of my life and Tony and Traci Morrow and all the campers completely lifted me up! 

I did every workout, including Yoga for the very first time (the ohms were spine-tingling, I did cardio, an ab workout and even ran an obstacle course and  guess what?  I didn't die! I was completely empowered!  I went on to finish one program after another and ever ran 3 half Marathons and the 2010 New York City Marathon! 

Best part though is I became a part of a community!   I had friends to turn to when I was having a bad day and who I lifted up when I was having a great day!  If went from on line posts to phone calls and other live adventures!

These people are in my life forever!  Michelle is clear across the country in Washington state but we talk sometime 10 times a day!  The two of us got to go on an amazing trip with Melanie to Italy this past May!

The best part for me though is now I get to pay it forward!  I get to left others up and tell them how amazing they are and are so worth the sweat and the tears they are putting in!  I'm teaching women how to empower themselves and even how to run their own successful coaching business!

So when your down and disparate just remember there's someone somewhere out there ready to give you a hand and tell you how amazing you are! Your life has meaning and purpose and there's someone out there waiting to get inspired by your journey!  So, if my story has inspired you please leave me a comment below so I can reach out to you! 

It's never to late!  You're amazing and you're worth it! ❤️

hate to label this a Transformation Tuesday pic because I'm still a work in progress! I bought this dress to wear at Summit 2009 and it didn't fit! My sister got married on the beach on 10/10/10 and it fit...barely! Dusted it off last year and it fit good! This year it's starting to get loose! Also, look at the changes in my face and arms! Even more than that though is what you can't see is how much more happy and confident I am! getting comfortable enough in my own skin that now I can turn the camera on myself and share my journey on social media! I'm taking charge of my life and even have my own business! I'm absolutely shining from the inside out! I recently saw Comedian Nicole Barbour's video rant about fat shaming, and although she does slip in the statement that some people may have medical reasons for being fat, she still doesn't have a clue! Trust me I've been at both ends of the scale, when I was young I was a skinny little nothing, I could eat whatever I wanted to Because I was active and had amazing metabolism. As I got older, had two kids, for went through a bad divorce and a move that I didn't want to make and then fell into depression and food became my best friend. I found Beachbody while watching an infomercial at 2 am probably while eating a half gallon of ice cream or a bag of popcorn. At that time I had no clue that I was getting so much more than a workout! What I got was an amazing support from strangers and before long some of them became friends in real life and still support me today! I began to workout, eat better and get back into life I lost 70 lbs and I even ran the 210 New York City Marathon! Then I had surgery, and lost my dad and before before I knew it the weight some of the weight was creeping back on. Diagnosed in 2013 with Sjögren's Syndrome, an auto-immune disease. Some of the symptoms include fatigue and joint pain and everyday is an adventure. Someday I'm feeling amazing then there's days that I'm down for the count, but I never give up! The point is before you judge keep in mind they we are all a journey and for some of us it may take longer then others so please be kind. For those of you who are just starting out or are still on your journey please do not give up! Keep going you'll never know what you can accomplish in just a few years! If you don't have a support system I'd be happy to remind you how amazing you are and there's nothing you can't accomplish!

About Me

My name is Michelle Ragazzo. I'm a mid-lifer with two young adults who are still at home although I hardly see them!  When I started my Beachbody Journey in 2006 I weighed 323 pounds.  It took a picture of myself at a Bon Jovi concert to really realize how out of control my life had become.  

I say life because I wasn't over-eating just because I liked to eat I was over eating because I was depressed and not happy with where my life was headed!  I was coming out of an emotionally abusive marriage.  I agreed to leave my new home, my friends and college so the kids could be near their father who I was still emotionally and financially attached to.

I was on the old Beachbody Boards before coaching was a thing.  I found this amazing chick Melanie Bolen who offered me advice about which workouts would be a match for me and was there to support and encourage me when I thought I'd never be able to do this.

With Beachbody Programs and product's I've lost more than 70lbs and although I've been lighter than I am now, I have never backslide to where I was before.  I've done almost every workout we have in our library and I'm currently doing T25 and Cize and am having a blast!  

In 2010 I even trained and ran the New York City Marathon!  It wasn't pretty, I tore my meniscus in my left knee and finished in a whooping 8 hours 58 minutes and 35 seconds!  Making me the second to last woman to officially finish that year!  

In 2012 I was diagnosed with Sjogren's Syndrome, an auto-immune disease.  I was also aproaching 50 at that time and made the decision that despite the pain I'm in some days I will never ever give up!  

When I decided to become a Beachbody coach my objective was not to work it as a business, but to actually get the discount on the workouts and supplements I loved so much and at the time was completely out of my price range!  Funny, I  didn't have the confidence back then to work my business as a business but it was one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself. I wasn't even living from paycheck to paycheck.  I'd get on a Friday and be broke on a Saturday.  Now I've gone from surviving to thriving!  I can do more than pay my bills and put food on my table, I can take the kids out to eat and even go on an adventure or two every year!

My main goal as a Team Beachbody coach is to prove to you, no matter what your circumstances are you too can live an amazing life!  I want to help you realize that everything you need is already inside you waiting for you to believe it!  

So instead of selling or recruiting you I'd love for you to join me and do it with me!  It doesn't matter if you have 5 pounds or 100 pounds to lose, I'll be with you every step of the way and help give you back the confidence you lost so you can pay it forward and inspire others! 

If you feel like our values align then please leave a comment below or hit the join tab and let me help show you how amazing and beautiful you are!

Recipes

It's fall!  Let the Soup Season Making Begin!

This is a quick easy soup recipe using a store bought Rosted Chicken 

(Yes, all you diehard chef's out there you can make your own!)

I love making this soup!  It's fast and easy and can even be made in a crock pot!  Best part you can make a batch and freeze it!  I like to use single serve containers so any one in the household can have soup when they want it! 

Butternut squash and corn give naturally sweet flavor to this savory chicken soup. Using rotisserie chicken makes it an easy meal to prepare on a busy weeknight. Tip: Freeze leftover soup in individual portions using large muffin tins. Spray muffin tin with nonstick spray, then ladle soup into cups and freeze. When frozen, remove portions to a plastic bag or storage container. One serving equals about 2 frozen pieces.

Total Time: 38 min.
Prep Time: 15 min.
Cooking Time: 23 min.
Yield: 8 servings, about 1 cup each

Ingredients:
1 tsp. olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
4 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme (or 2 Tbsp. dried thyme)
Sea salt (or Himalayan salt) and ground white pepper (to taste; optional)
8 oz rotisserie chicken breast, boneless, skinless, shredded
1 cup frozen corn (or roasted corn)
2 cups cubed butternut squash

Preparation:
1. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent.
3. Add chicken broth and thyme. Season with salt and pepper if desired; cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
4. Add chicken, corn, and squash; cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 to 8 minutes, or until squash is soft.
5. Divide evenly between eight serving bowls