My name is Jessica Mathis and I am 34yrs old. I have 2 wonderful daughters Hailey who is 5 and Myckelle 13. I have been married to the man of my dreams for 9yrs and have a wonderful life. We are full-time Beachbody Coaches and look forward to everyday helping people achieve there physical success or there Beachbody business. To most it would be both! I am so proud and thankful to be apart of this community. It has changed my life and our families life in more ways than one.
My life hasn’t always been so successful and I wasn’t born with the great body that I thought everyone else was. I have always been the big boned girl and the girl. I am sure many of you know that phrase. It’s the polite way of saying your chunky. I believed that my baby fat was still apart of me when I was in my teens. My parents were big believers in letting me believe that it was true.
Growing up, we lived off of meat, potatoes, and canned veggies. If we were really good and cleaned our plate, we were rewarded with Napolotin Ice Cream!
Of course, no one wanted to be left behind so we stuffed ourselved to the gills and pretended like we always had room for the treat. After dinner, we would get our bowl of 3 flavored ice cream topped with good ole hershey’s syrup and sit infront of the television. Shortly after licking the bowl clean, it would be bed time. Then next day it would be a repeat of the night before.
My activities during my play time would be playing outside or inside without a lot of physical movement. I wasn’t one for running or playing sports. I was at the end of my grade school and entering Junior High at the pants size of 7.
Soon, I grew into my teen years. Clothes, boys and being social were the highlights in my life. I joined a softball team and played as catcher, but still not a lot of physical activity.
My friends were always sharing clothes and I always knew not even to try, I didn’t want to embarrass myself. I started getting really self conscious about myself and wanted to lose weight. I had not idea on how except not to eat. Starving myself was the best way to lose weight, so I thought. I would drop a size but quickly gain it back with some extra! Soon, I just accepted that I would never be one of those lucky girls. In High School I was averaging between a 9-12 pants size
After highschool, I left the nest and ended up in the real world. College, work, and trying to keep a social life. I naturally started losing weight because I was running around and not eating the way I used to growing up. I didn’t have ice cream everynight and I was a waitress in a restaurant so I found my physicall activity increased. Still, I was never happy with my body. At this point in my life I was a size 10.
At the age of 25, my husband and I started dating. Instantly I starting caring a lot more about my weight and trying to watch what I was eating. Not healthy, because I still don’t know what healthy is at this point. I was just not eating a lot. The starvation mode was clicking in again. Once again, I lost that battle. Thank goodness I found someone that loved me for who I was and not what I looked like.
He must of because HE PROPOSED!!!
Planning our wedding was one of the best times in my life until it was time to pick out a dress. I knew I wanted to be beautiful and look amazing. I knew I wanted a strapless gown. I looked at Brides magazines and dreamed about how great I wanted to look.
So I settled for a long sleeve, full figured, puffy dress with a veil that could hide my face.
As if that wasn’t enough, we went to Cancun for our honeymoon and I had to get into a swimsuit. Poor Aaron, he must really love me for who I am. At least I had a swimsuit comver to help me out. Needles to say, I didn’t share to many of those pictures when we got back.
At this point, life is good, so I thought, and we are packing on the pounds together! I had to many problems trying to carry a child and could never make it past the first trimester. I was really depressed and gave up on myself and didn’t care anymore.
Still, Aaron was there for me, no matter what. I am a lucky girl!
We tried different diet fads and pills. We would always lose 15lbs. gain 20lbs.
At the age of 28 I finally made it past the first trimester with my pregnancy. I was so happy and couldn’t wait to be a mom! Oh, and also, I had an excuse for my big belly! Soon came the day of birth. I was told that I was going to have a C-Section. I realy didn’t have a problem with that, I was scared of the whole child birth pain and I knew that with the surgery I wasn’t going to feel a thing.
Life couldn’t be better when I got to come home and be a wife and a mother. Well, I didn’t exactly realize that the recovery time was at least 6months before I could use my stomach muscles or for that matter lift anything at all. What was I to do all day? The only thing I could do, or so I thought. Cook for my wonderful family. Oh boy, when Aaron would walk through the door, he would be greeted with some gourmet meal I prepared from a fattening cook book or a recipe I found off the internet. There would be garlic bread, some sort of cheesy potatoes, a roast with rich gravy, and salad drowned in a creamy dressing. On my finer days there would be an appetizer to start and a sugary desert at the end. WOW, did we gain some weight. I soon found the scale tipping over 202lbs. My husband and I were extremely overweight, miserable, hiding our emotions with food and neither one of us knew how to help ourselves. I was so embarrassed that I didn’t ever want to leave house. I felt disgusting, ashamed and helpless.
Approximately 6 months after my daughter was born, I was lying in bed flipping through the channels and came across this goofy workout guy cracking jokes and saying “All you have to do is press play.” Then I saw all these testimonials of how people were transforming there bodies in 90 days. I found apart of me in everyone’s story. I had tears in my eyes and I understood how they felt when they were overweight but most importantly, they understood me and how I felt and what I was going through. These weren’t people that were blessed with great bodies, they were people just like me.
I was so touched and if they could give 90days then so could I.
Instantly I was nudging my husband and trying to wake him up from a snore, little to my knowledge at the time he was probably in a carb induced coma from dinner!
I finally got him awake and made him look at the T.V. He is such a great supporter, he was like uh huh, sure honey, whatever you want. Falling fast asleep again getting ready to have nightmares of a crazy man named Tony Horton.
Soon my husband ordered the video and we were so pumped up. Well, we got the video and it must have had to complicated of wrap on it cause it didn’t get opened. Couple of weeks passed and I am sure Aaron was sick of me complaining about how fat I was and tired of saying then do something about it. He decided to give me the nudge I needed by opening the package for me.
Soon we were pressing play and watching… and watching….and watching. Ok, now we can try, I think I have it memorized. I know now that there realy wasn’t an imaginary table Tony was leaning on.
The first week didn’t go so hot. I think our neighbors thought we were having an earthquake on the cardio days and at times we thought either the front window was going to bust out or the floor was going to give with all the jumping. 500lbs. doesn’t look so pretty flailing around the living room. Once again, he must love me. Everyday, we kept pushing play and when I would give up, Aaron would be right there to help me. Even though at times he would be called a lot of bad names. On the other hand, the days that he wouldn’t feel up to it, I would be right there letting him know that we can’t give up. We can make it. A month later, I couldn’t believe what was happening. We were actually losing weight. A lot of weight.
Now for the hard part, nutrition. What was healthy food? How do I cook healthy food? Are you kidding, vegetables? Thank goodness for Michi’s ladder, It was a great outline for us, Just stay within the top 3 tiers. Soon after the first month, we finally said, “What is this WOWY thing?” Aaron quickly logged on and to our amazement there was a whole new world to us. Aaron quickly dove into the online community and started posting on the message boards. I started dabbling in the Club and getting ideas for recipes and healthier ways to eat and cook. That wasn’t all, Aaron found that there was a contest for a success story to win a trip to Hawaii! WOW, now that is some motivation. Aaron and I knew we would never be able to take a trip like that unless we saved for a long time.
90 days later…. I lost approx. 50lbs. and my husband, well you will have to read his story to find out. I knew I didn’t want to stop there but I wasn’t ready to continue on to P90X. I continued using Power 90 and purchased Turbo Jam and worked my way down to 132lbs. I couldn’t believe it, nor could anyone else. I haven’t weighed that little since Junior High. I was feeling great and couldn’t be happier.
Aaron sent in his success story and made it to the finals. Unfortunately he didn’t make the cut. I was so proud of him and I didn’t want him to take it as if he failed. He did an amazing job with his transformation. Luckily, he continued forward. He knew that there would be another chance next year and his results would be even better by then. He was a true P90Xer and he was bringing it everyday!
Unfortunatey for me, I wasn’t sticking to my workouts on a regular basis. I went back to work in the restaurant business and let’s just say, I was eating good in the neighborhood. I let life get in the way of my fitness and I started to go downhill. Over then course of several months, I found myself back up to about 163lbs. I lost my motivation and my inspiration to push play. Aaron and I were working different schedules so I felt like I didn’t have the support that I had before.
I knew I had to find inspiration again and I knew just where to get it. Beachbody of course. I knew the products worked, I know that the support would be there and I knew the weight would come off. I found myself ordering Debi Sieber’s Slim In 6. It is a six week program and just like before, I knew I could commit myself to six weeks. I started using Michi’s ladder and the Beachbody Club again to get me on track. Six weeks later I was down to 145lbs. I was feeling it again, that feeling of motivation and the joy of success. I wasn’t going to let this feeling go away again.
In the midst of all of this, Aaron once again submitted his story. He was chosen! I knew he would be, his results were off the charts! Soon, we were headed of to Kauai, Hawaii. Beachbody took such great care of us, Carl and Jon were so amazing. There values in the company were so whole hearted. They believed in helping change obesity, they believed in helping others and they are succeeding! Aaron and I couldn’t have been more greatful. We wanted to somehow work for the company. Aaron would have been a coffee runner if they had an opening. When we returned home, we knew that was an experience we would probably never have again. We are forever greatful for there kindness.
Oh did I mention we got to meet Tony Horton? Not only hang out with him but workout with him! Aaron felt so honored, he was so proud to call Tony a friend. Tony gave us the confidence back in our life that we have been lacking or never had. It is amazing how someone can change your life just by showing you how to do something and bringing you into a community that will always be there no matter how bad it gets. Beachbody never gives up on you!
Our life was forever changed, we couldn’t have asked for anything better to happen to us. We continued with our programs and trying all the new dvd’s that Beachbody would launch. Then one day in December of 2006, we received a phone call from Beachbody’s CEO Carl Daikler. We were asked if we would come down to L.A. and listen to a business plan. Of course, they didn’t even have to ask, we don’t care what the job is, we will take it! In the next week we were on our way to yet another Beachbody excursion. How exciting was this? Soon we were in a limo taking us to the famous Beverly Hills Wilshire. I couldn’t believe it, I was actually in the hotel where Pretty Woman was filmed. Our next couple of days were filled with all the new and exciting plans for Beachbody and how they wanted to enter the network marketing field. Ok, waite a minute, network marketing? Where are we, what are we getting involved in? I don’t sell toilet paper. I can’t hardly upsell loaded mashed potatoes at my work. How am I ever going to sell Beachbody products? Aaron and I continued to listen and we weren’t all that sure of what we were hearing but we knew that we believed in these products, we believed in the company, we believed in Carl and Jon’s vision for the future of this company. What made the most difference is that they believed in us. At this point we knew it didn’t matter, we were in. We weren’t sure what we were doing but we trusted the company that they were going to show us.
We couldn’t wait to get on the phone and call everyone we knew. We wanted to tell them all about our trip and the business opportunity! We quickly found out that we didn’t know what the business was. We just knew we believed in the opportunity. We asked our friends and family to just trust us. All we wanted was for people to join in and see what happens. We quickly went through everyone we knew and realized not a lot of people trusted us, In fact, most thought we were crazy.
Aaron and I had to start learning, we had to figure out what this network marketing really was and put on some thick skin when people said we were involved in a pyramid scheme and they are going to take our money. We were a little confused because we didn’t understand what money they were taking. Our cost was only $14.95 a month. How is Beachbody going to get rich of that? Slowly but surely we learned the ins and out of the business. We definitely learned the hard way and made mistakes. I think we are better because of those mistakes and we won’t let our team do the same. We strive to be leaders in the business and most importantly in our fitness. If I am going to talk about the products, I better be using the products.
I am not saying that something just clicked in me and I started to love working out. I am one of those people that don’t enjoy it but have to do it. I know what my life was like before exercise and I definitely don’t want to go back. Besides, what is an hour a day to make yourself feel great on the inside as well as the outside.
As all of this was going on, Beachbody launched its success story contest! In January of 2007 Aaron was the first $10,000 winner. Can you believe it? What more could this company possibly give to us? I was so happy for Aaron and he deserved to win. He fought and struggled everyday and kept pushing play and moving forward.
For the next year we were living a pretty strict diet life. How could we not, Aaron was going to enter his story in the Million Dollar Body Game.
In the meantime we were still moving along with the business and still learning. We opened a gym and Aaron trained when he returned from work everynight. Poor guy, he would leave for work at 6am- return home at 3pm. Change, grab a snack and off to the studio until 8pm. He would come home eat dinner and get on the Beachbody message boards to help motivate others. He was also trying to get a handle on how to build the business. I was working full time and nights. We never saw eachother and we were miserable. Beachbody was bringing in about $400 a week and we were using it to pay for the studio.
In February of 2008 is when we received a call letting us know that Aaron was one of the 8 finalists. This meant he definitely will get $50,000 but could possibly win the $250,000 instead. We were so excited and so many thoughts on how our life was going to change were running through our heads. We decided we were going to shut the studio down and focus on the business at this point.
In March of 2008 we were flown to L.A. for another Beachbody excursion, it never ends!
They treated us so wonderful, took care of our needs and definitely kept Aaron busy with photo shoots, interviews and workouts. The night of the Game was finally here and we all were so excited. I remember sitting at our table watching Aaron on stage and thanking his beautiful wife. I was crying and felt so much joy and happiness, I was so proud of him and all of his accomplishments. He is such a wonderful, caring person. He always speaks from his heart and will do what he can to help anyone. I at that moment knew once again that he was the man of my dreams. Not because he was winning the money but because of all the amazing things that make him who he is.
He might not have won the grand prize but he will always be #1 in my heart and in so many other peoples minds. He had accomplished something amazing.
Life was definitely good in our lives. We came home from L.A. and decided to sell our starter house and in May we purchase a bigger home in the Vancouver area. We didn’t waste anytime diving into the business. We had our goals and we knew what our why was. We wanted to both do Beachbody full-time and spend every minute together with our each other and our family. I soon decided to quit my serving job and be at home when our daughter started ½ day kindergarten. That was a major adjustment. I have never not worked, except the year after I had Hailey. I quickly realized that I was busier being home than ever. My business was growing and I soon reached the Diamond status. This was my first major business goal. It was such a great feeling of accomplishment.
In November of 2008, Aaron and I decided to go for the Top Coach Contest. We both sat down together and strategized who would have the best chances at achieving it. We both decided it would be Aaron. I knew Thanksgiving was the following weekend and we were going to have dinner at our new house. It was a perfect opportunity. I knew they were going to be curious and ask how we were affording our new lifestyle. Aaron created a power point and we went to work. Soon I had aunts and cousins joining our team. Next we went back through our list of everyone we knew and started over with contacting them and asking to give it a second look. To our surprise, many of them took the plunge.
I thought how funny, if they would have only trusted us in the beginning.
After the contest ended, Aaron and I were anxious to find out the results. We had to wait approx. 2 weeks to get the good news. We won! I was so overwhelmed, Beachbody was going to take us on another trip, how lucky are we? Not only were they taking us to Cancun, but they were paying for us to fly to L.A. and have all expense paid at the Summit to watch the 2009 Million Dollar Body Game.
Soon our next goal was accomplished, Aaron was able to put in his retirement papers. Our dreams of spending every day together were finally coming true. Life doesn’t get much better, or does it? In March of 2009 we flew to L.A. to participate in the Summit and Aaron was announced Novembers Top Coach. Once again, I find myself crying tears of joy. I was so happy for both of us, we had accomplished so much and we have so many dreams that are coming true. After the Summit, we were flown to Cancun and spent an amazing time getting to know other Top Coach Winners and wonderful leaders in the business. Aaron and I were like sponges, trying to absorb any information we could to better ourselves and our business. It is truly wonderful being around other like minded individuals that make there dreams come true. Once again, Beachbody out did themselves spoiling us.
Returning home we had so many ideas and so much we wanted to do. Our teams were growing and we wanted to give them more. Aaron started hosting Team Calls with Mike and Tami French. Then Aaron and Mike started presenting there own business opportunity calls. I realy think they do an awesome job. You can hear the sincerity and how much they care in there voices and I believe people are drawn to them.
Our business is flourishing and I believe that you get what you put into it. You don’t have to be a professional to be a coach, you just have to care about others. If Aaron and I can achieve financially freedom with this, I truly believe anyone can.
Well back to my fitness, since we returned from Cancun I have put on 13lbs. I am very disappointed in myself and I know what I need to do to lose it. I got lazy and put off my workouts for another day. I am currently trying to complete P90X and I will succeed. I have a wonderful coach that is very supportive and I know its possible to get results. I will continue to push play and do my best.
