Healthy is HOT!: February 2011

Hello Everyone! My name is Tanya Thurnau. I grew up in a small town in southern Minnesota and now live in the suburbs of the Twin Cities. I'm just a friendly Midwestern girl who has found a passion for health and fitness!

I'll admit it hasn't always been easy for me to live healthy. I grew up watching my family, both immediate and extended, struggle with their weight. At that time I was oblivious and I didn't understand what was necessary for good health. I just knew what was going on around me wasn't good. In a fear of what I thought was my inevitable fate, and through the circumstances of life, I starved myself, tried the quick fix pills, abused laxatives, and binged and purged.

In the third grade I developed an interest in sports. I began participating in basketball and volleyball school leagues as well as city programs and camps. This continued until the tenth grade when I chose to quit sports and focus on my studies - something I regret to this day. I loved being part of a team and, looking back, it was actually the glue that held the other components of my life together.

When I went to college I was extremely introverted. I didn't participate in anything and only made a total of two friends. It was a lonely time in my life, but it was also the time I began taking an interest in health and fitness. I got engaged to one of the two friends I made at college and wanted to be in great shape for my wedding day (the summer after I graduated). I didn't have money for a gym membership, so I started running and working out in my dorm room. By the end of college and the day of my wedding (July 16, 2005), I was in good shape for not knowing what in the world I was doing.

Unfortunately my marriage didn't last and the divorce got the best of me. I was taking comfort in food, ignoring food all-together, or immersing myself in group classes and cardio machines at the gym. I was all over the place with my weight and habits.

I had tried all the unhealthy extremes, but through a desire for knowledge and a better way to live, I finally began learning the facts about what works. This is when Beachbody came along. The first home fitness program I purchased from Beachbody was Turbo Jam. I started seeing better results from this program than I ever had from the gym. Why? Because it included the workouts, a workout schedule, a nutrition guide/plan, and support?things I had to pay for separately at the gym and couldn?t afford. This is where I began learning the basics of proper health and nutrition.

From that point on my interest in health and fitness snowballed into a passion. I began purchasing more challenging workouts, like P90X, and have been blessed to be able to start a career as an Independent Beachbody Coach (since April 2009). I am also working on my certification to become a personal trainer and hope to one day open my own fitness studio.

I'll be honest, it's still not always easy for me and I'm always a work in progress, but I just want to share what I know and love with you in hopes that by doing so I can help you organize your lives through health and fitness - and hopefully create a healthier future for my family.