Beachbody didn’t give me my beach body. It didn’t give me my love for fitness and it wasn’t the platform that taught me how to eat healthy. It didn’t give me discipline. It didn’t give me a drive or light the fire within me. It didn’t make me realize my dreams or give my inspiration. I had that hard work ethic and was digging for my goals before I ever joined the Beachbody community. It didn’t give me this large sense of belonging—I’m introverted AF. However, at a time in my life when I had no ability to attend a gym regularly, it gave me consistency. For the days I need therapy and I can’t get to the gym because HELLO career woman living the single mom life, it’s allowed me to push play within minutes.

You, a friend, telling me I’ve joined a cult that you’ve done no research on as you sit on your throne of a couch and judge, can move along. You, a stranger, who knows nothing about me or my life as you do your own fitness journey and promote activity—”do any activity”—but judge, can also move along.

The honest truth: it took me over 3 years to join because previously, it didn’t work for me and previously, I had other methods of staying active. I also didn’t like the coaches who approached me on their high thrones with their copy/paste generic messaging—that’s on them, not the program—telling me how I should live my fitness life. Then, I moved out of my parents with my kid, alone, and had no babysitter and worked 60+ hour weeks. I researched at home fitness programs, and then I researched coaches of such programs. It worked for me, and now you’re telling me there’s a fault in being active? At $99 a year?

Am I fan of the tiered marketing system? No. However, it’s brilliant. Catered to the stay at home mom feeling in a slump; the overweight or depressed female insecure for the gym; the fitness enthusiast who has career goals but also wants to share her love for fitness and health with the world; the extrovert fitness gal. Anyone. And you’re labeling it all as a cult without ever trying it or actually looking into it? They don’t force your hand, they provide you options. What you do with it is up to you.

There is a cancel option.

How’s the Kettle, Pot?

There’s no one-size fits all fitness program & unfortunately, I don’t agree with many things in the Beachbody community but hey Pot, that’s life.

I recently joined Planet Fitness and let me tell you, their whole “Judgment Free Zone” epitomizes the hypocrite label. Again, not perfect. Are you also going to make fun of the obese man doing cardio for an hour because I’ll applaud the man just like I’ll applaud the lunk (is that the word PF uses?) who grunts to clean 300lbs. They’re more active than most of the population. I don’t care how one chooses to be active—hi Free Will, welcome to the party—as long as they’re active (and not hurting anyone). If they want to eat like crap to balance out their fitness, I might not agree with it, and I certainly won’t hear of their ailments when they suffer from high blood pressure or the doctor tells them they’re at risk of a heart attack, but that’s their prerogative.

Being active is being active.

How you choose to live life will not affect me. How you choose to judge my fitness and health journey, will not affect the outcome of my results.

If you complain about not having time to make it to the gym and being inactive but stick your nose up to any at home fitness program, again, that’s your problem and I don’t want to hear about it. I may not follow the “no excuse” phenomenon but that, Pot, is a shit poor excuse. What’s your next one?

Have I struggled with my name attached to the same company of women I’ve had to personally block from my social media because they bullied me for not wanting to blindly try a product that was never labeled Gluten Free or didn’t believe me when I said I had no Wi-Fi because I lived in the boonies and preferred yoga and the gym? Absolutely. I’m also not a fan of joining the same gym that told me, “Well, he probably didn’t cancel your membership because you don’t look pregnant,” despite me filling out the proper cancellation paperwork. Newsflash, I didn’t “pop” until I was over 7 months along into my pregnancy. Fitness programs, affiliates, and companies are not perfect. (Then again, you’re not either. Yeah, I said that.)

Here’s the thing you’re overlooking in your enthusiasm to blindly label: it’s sales and it’s business. These are women who are running a business, like you sell Arbonne, mortgages, jewelry, real estate, candles, or apparel. If you don’t want to be sold to, turn off your television, cancel your phone plan, and move to the wilderness.

Beachbody simply decided to create a company that allowed women, many of whom seem to be introverts, to turn their passion for the lifestyle into a fitness on a platform (social media) that allows them to feel comfortable breaking out of that introvert shell. That doesn’t make it a cult, it makes it a brilliant marketing campaign. BBG could do the same and from the research I’ve done, it looks like 1stphorm has done the same to some degree. The difference is Beachbody thrives on community and friendships so VOILA: “cult” aka more accurately labeled SUCCESS.

If you’re going to judge these women for taking control of their health, turning it into an income, falling in love with themselves, and wanting to empower others to do the same, well, you’re just as bad as the coaches who believe Beachbody is the “only” fitness method.

Congratulations Pot, you found Kettle.

Now, as for me and my fitness journey, you can find me either at the gym or doing triple bears in my living room with my 4-year-old daughter. As long as I’m consistently active and pursuing my health, I don’t care what my method is.

At home workout bonus: my kid plays witness to an active and healthy lifestyle and can join in. I’ll pay another $99/year for that gem.