PiYo Review Time!

Alright, so, a lot of you know that I am a Beachbody Coach. Let me go ahead and throw that out there before I start this post.

I am affiliated with the company. However, I'm not being paid to tell you how good or bad this program is. I'm not a sell-out. I will never tell you something that I don't fully believe.

Example of this:

• Shakeology is absolutely delicious, in my opinion.
• The Chocolate flavor is everything.
• The Greenberry makes me want to puke. It's disgusting. (Just my opinion though)
• I'm also not a Strawberry person. Didn't like it. Don't recommend it.
• I've heard wonderful things about the Tropical Strawberry Vegan flavor. Can't recommend it because I haven't tried it.

Once again, I'm honest to a fault. I'll never tell you something I don't stand by.

Also, I do want to clear up why I became a Coach.

It actually SAVES you money! I drink Shakeology every month. Being a Coach saves me about $30 each month on this product. I'm not in it to sell products. You aren't even required to sell products. If I can help someone achieve a goal, I'm all for helping them get a program or try Shakeology. If not, I'm still saving money. So it's a win-win.

Can I just say, right here, right now, that I hate that we live in a world where we feel like we have to justify ourselves before we make an opinion. All opinions just seem to get attacked these days. 

So, now that you've read my justification/explanation/clarification/whatever, let's talk about PiYo!!!

PiYo is a program that was created by Chalene Johnson. She's that lady who does TurboKick and TurboFire. You may also have heard of ChaLean Extreme. I had not ever heard of any of these programs when I purchased PiYo back in June 2014.

I was one of the people who was waitlisted to find out the exact date this program released. I was so in when I heard it was coming out. I'm a long time lover of Beachbody, but had never finished a whole program. I'd done roughly 30 days of P90X (but then I got the flu). I'd done 4 weeks of Insanity (love Shaun T) but was so sore and tired that I quit. I also owned these programs:

• Hip Hop Abs - SO MUCH FUN. I had no dedication when I was given this as a gift.
• Slim in 6 - This workout WORKS!!! But it's boring. It's the same workout every day. But it works!!!
• Rockin' Body - Also, SO MUCH FUN! Lost dedication after Week 2.
• T25 - My first DVD is messed up, and it wasn't ordered through BeachBody...because I'm dumb. They'll replace scratched/messed up DVDs if you order through them. What was I thinking!?

I've done yoga on and off since I was 14-ish years old. I found one of my mom's All Day Yoga DVDs, popped it in, and fell in love. I have bad anxiety and this is one of the ways I can manage it. Yoga keeps me calm, gets my blood moving, and teaches me to slow down and breathe.

When I saw that BeachBody was coming out with a "hardcore Yoga" (how I thought of it), I was on board. I can look back at posts from 2014 and see just how excited I was.

Then, I had it, started it, and never finished it!

I wanted to lose weight. I wanted to get in shape. I just had no determination to really change.

Then, in 2015, I decided to start it over again. I started in April 2015 and finished it at the end of May 2015. I had great results. I lost about 11 lbs and 11.75 inches in just 8 weeks! I had all of these big plans to start it again and do Round 2. Here are the problems I faced, though:

1. I wasn't getting healthy for me. I was getting healthy because I thought that would make my boyfriend pay more attention to me.
2. My birthday was in May. I took a cheat day, but I went way overboard and got off track. This led to negative feelings I "couldn't" come back from.
3. I did it all alone. I didn't tell anyone about what I was doing. I had no support system.
4. Guy from #1 up there and I went through the worst breakup that I have ever been through at the very beginning of June. What does this lead to? Emotional eating...binging...all the bad.

Positives:

1. I finished the program. I did all 8 weeks!
2. I did lose the weight. I even kept it off until August/September despite the emotional eating.
3. I now knew that I can lose the weight. I just needed the right motivation.

So, here I am, June 2016, and I'm in my last week of PiYo. Technically, this is Round 2, but it sure didn't feel like it. I felt like I was starting over from Square 1.

In the first 7 weeks of PiYo, I've lost 13 lbs and 13 inches. (Yes, I think it's hilarious that both times, my losses were the close - 11 lbs and 11.75 inches vs 13 lbs and 13 inches).

I still have one week left, and it's the hardest of them all. Chalene combines the toughest workouts in a sequence that will "light you on fire." Or that's how it feels!

The workout programs in the whole program are:

1. Align: The Fundamentals
2. Define Lower Body
3. Define Upper Body
4. Sweat
5. Core
6. Buns
7. Drench
8. Strength Intervals
9. Sculpt
10. Hardcore on the Floor (if you order through a Coach)

Holy CRAP! 

I'll have to do a separate post on the workouts in order to really do them justice. I'll go ahead and tell you that my two favorites are Drench and Hardcore on the Floor. Drench is 48 minutes and it feels so good. It's HARD. Don't get me wrong. I mean, the workout is named Drench. When you're done, you are drenched in sweat. But I love the way you feel when you're done. It's a full body workout.

Then, Hardcore on the Floor is all core work. It's done on the floor (hence the name) and it is also really hard. But it's WONDERFUL (and about 33 minutes).

Nick's favorite workout is Sculpt. It's around 30 minutes as well (might be right under at 28 or so), and it does what it says - it uses your body to sculpt your body. I feel like it's a lot of leg work, but you finish with arms. He doesn't like the Core workouts because his core is his weakest area. It's my strongest, so I'm all about it.

Our least favorite is Strength Intervals, but we've pushed through that one as well. I'll explain why we aren't big fans when I do a post on that one, specifically.

All-in-all, if you're looking for a program that is low-impact, but gives great results, PiYo might just be your soulmate workout. It's definitely mine. It's a great option if you're just starting out on your fitness journey, or if you just really love Yoga, like I do. It's intense. There is a modifier (heyyyy Michelle!) and you should follow her if you are struggling. Sometimes, I follow her just because I'm sore! It will work for you if you work the program.

<3

--Also, don't forget to get your nutrition in line. Don't expect results if you're eating crap all day. I'm the pickiest eater in the whole world, and I was able to change what I was eating. I've incorporated more healthy foods, more whole foods, and eat the 80/20 clean diet. Try it and see how your body changes!