One Month Later

This has been a great month!  I joined a 21 day fix group that started on December 1st and have been accountable to my coach and others on the page.  It has been a great three weeks with lots of challenges and growing.  These past few weeks I have learned that I have very little self control when it comes to food.  I don't like to tell myself "no" and I make excuses or try to justify to myself why I can have something.  I'm great with my workouts, but not so much with my eating.  After the whole three weeks were over and I analyzed my weekly weigh-ins I realized I could have lost 9-12 pounds this round if I had stayed on track with my nutrition.  I was losing an average of 5 pounds a week and then gaining a few back, losing a few more, gaining it back, etc.  Such a silly game I play.  So, three weeks ago I started at 152.6 pounds and today 21 days later I am weighing in at 149 pounds.  WHOOP WHOOP!!!!  I have officially broke into the 140s!!!!  My friends, that is a very beautiful number.  Technically I only have 4 more pounds to lose to get to my pre-baby #5 weight, however, the closer I get, I'm still noticing so many areas where I have an abundance of fat, so I think my new goal will be 135 pounds.  I'm going to monitor my photos as I go, because I can look very gaunt if I lose too much weight.  Once I get to my "perfect" weight, I will go into maintenance and just work on toning.

I have become a lot more experimental in the kitchen.  In the 21 day fix they say "failing to plan is planning to fail" and when it comes to food prep, there couldn't be anything further from the truth.  Not having healthful meals ready is a HUGE mistake and a big opportunity for failure on the nutrition side.  I'm really starting to enjoy cooking in large batches and portioning out the food into containers to grab and go.  This takes all the thought out of my daily routine and gives me one less area to fail in.  Food prep along with my scheduled daily workouts has brought so much structure into my day and really helped calm me.  It's strange, I guess it's a nice unplanned side affect from the 21 day fix program.  Makes me happy!  :)

I am posting my latest photo collage below of my BEFORE pictures and my pictures after this round 5.  I'm seeing abs and a whole lot skinnier me.  I love it!  Taking pictures has been absolutely imperative during this program for me to see my results.  The scale is one thing, but actually seeing how far you've come is completely amazing.  Some day I plan on measuring and when I do I'll post those numbers :)

I hope you are all working hard, eating healthy and seeing amazing results!

Until next time, happy sweating!!!

I CAN DO PUSH UPS!!!!!!

So, life-long problem for me... push ups.  Never could do them no matter how hard I tried.  Until now, that is.  Five rounds into 21 day fix and fix extreme and I can do 10 push ups!!! Whoop WHOOP!!!!  I am SO celebrating this as a huge non scale victory.  Huge as in I deserve a glass of wine, but I'm not going to because I've had one too many carbs today, huge.  And that's huge!

On another note, I have been failing pretty miserably this round(five) at my workouts.  I have had so much going on this month with the holidays and emotional drama that my workouts and eating have been seriously suffering.  Out of 30 days this month, I worked out a grand total of.......wait for it......................15.  That's an F.  A big... fat... F.   But then, I got this brilliant idea to weigh myself the other day!  I squinced my eyes as I stepped onto the scale dreading the number I would see.  I was sure I was going to be up the five pounds I had just lost, but when I opened them, I couldn't believe the scale.  I had lost weight!  What the heck!?!?!  I lost weight going through three Thanksgivings.  Holy cow is my body awesome!  I'm going to try and do much better with this December round.  Still round 5, but starting again.  This round 5 is going to take me two and a half months at this rate!  Lame...  lame...lame Lisa.  Gotta get my act together.

I have noticed that I'm getting so strong I am no longer shaking in a lot of the 60 second exercises.  It's so cool being able to firmly plant myself and do the workout and still feel strong at the end.  Beats feeling like I'm going to puke or collapse, that's for sure!

And finally, I have a grand total of 7 pounds left to lose to be at my pre-baby weight.  I'm very proud.  I'ts hard to believe I'm almost in the 140s again.  Honestly, I didn't think I was going to see them again, EVER.  I had almost resigned to the fact that I have five kids and this is my new mom body that just won't ever look like that again.  I'm so happy to be proving myself wrong.



Until later,

Happy sweating!!!

Down on myself

It's been just over two weeks since I finished round four of the 21 day fix program.  Two rounds of 21 day fix and 2 rounds of 21 day fix extreme.  I'm so proud of how far I've come, as seen in my pictures from my last post.  However, stress from work, five kids, single parenthood and starting my own business has led to massive frustration/self-doubt and has seriously derailed me.  I have learned a lot from the last two weeks.  One thing, I noticed that when things get tough, I am the first person who gets put on the back burner (I do it to myself) and every priority of mine is sidelined to make room for everyone else.  I think it's called Mommy Syndrome.  Take care of everyone but yourself...  And I'm so not okay with this!  I'm so stinkin' frustrated with myself and not feeling like I deserve it enough to make a time each day that is MINE and ONLY mine.  I love the results I'm getting from the program and I loved feeling empowered by seeing myself physically strong.  Another part of me however, is just plain lazy and uses the above reasons as excuses, because honestly, some days I could squeeze it in, but I find a reason to put it off until later and later never comes.

I'm also having a really hard time eating clean and sticking to my portion containers.  Lately, I have absolutely no self-control and eat anything and everything that I want.  I think to myself "why can't I have it?" or "this program is too restricting".  Just a couple excuses...  After I eat it, I feel like crap for being so weak, which has been a great eye-opener.  I know exactly what I'm going to do for Lent, eat clean for 21 days straight.  It's a great type of self-denial and serious growth when you can deny yourself an indulgent food.  And it's not like I'm going to starve myself, it's just having an awareness and discipline to say no.  I'm excited yet scared of failure to start tonight with strengthening my will power and sticking to it.  I know it will happen and when it does, the results are going to happen like crazy!

So... tonight is the night that I am deciding I am important!  I am worthy!  I am deserving of a hot mom body!  And I'm going to stop being lazy and cheating myself.  Everyone else can give me one hour a day to myself and they'll survive.  They really will.  And I'll survive sticking to a workout schedule and clean eating.  I won't starve.  I really won't.

Happy sweating!

My photo of inspiration for the week.

Four rounds down!

Today is my official four round anniversary.  I have done two rounds of 21 day fix and two rounds of 21 day fix extreme.  I put together a collage so I could see the difference since I am such a visual person.  I haven't weighed myself yet, but just looking at the pictures, I am AMAZED!!!

This transformation has happened in just three months!  Three!!!  I have stuck to the eating plan fairly well and worked out almost every day a week.

I've still got a long way to go, definitely not fully toned and still have lots of baby fat left, but I'm so thrilled to share my results and journey with you all.

Keep pushing and keep working.  It's so worth it!!!
I'll weigh in later and post it :)

Happy sweating!!!

Non Scale Victory

It's been a bit of a rough past few weeks with me doubting my ability to do this workout/eating program and having a lot of frustrations in life with pretty much everything.  This week I have a nasty cold, so I skipped two days of working out.  Good excuse, right???  It was.  Anywho, today I'm feeling a bit better, so I decided to get back on track and what exercise am I on in the 21 Day Fix Extreme program?  Leg day!!!!  Oh...my...goodness.  I felt like I was going to puke then die!  Still being a little sick must've really kicked my behind, because I was in such sad shape.  The workout was HARD!  VERY HARD!  But, I'm so proud to say that I did each exercise without modifications and I did the complete 30 minutes.  I was so happy!  But there's something I was even more ecstatic about, the fact that I worked out in shorts.  You see, I hate my legs.  They're ugly.  And after having 5 kids, I have far from attractive thighs.  I've always had cellulite since as long as I can remember and I've had saddle bags aka. pointy thighs.  That's where my pregnancy weight goes, straight to the thighs.  But today, for some reason I thought I'd put on my shorts and see how it looked.  Crazy scary idea considering every time I've looked at myself in the mirror when wearing shorts I ended up blind for the next 24 hours from the hideousness.  Okay, not really.  Anyways, this particular pair of shorts had a little hang up going over my thighs.  Pre-baby it slid on just fine.  Post-baby, I had to do that little girly jump/wiggle to get something too small over your a little too large hips or thighs.  Today, I didn't have to do that.  It was so weird, they slid right on!  I was shocked!!!!  Is this the same pair of shorts that had been clinging to my thighs just weeks before?  Why yes it was!  They were loose on my thighs!  Quite loose.  And they looked good!  Now, understand that for me to think a pair of shorts looks good on MY legs is a big deal.  It's a FREAKING BIG DEAL and I'm so happy to say this freaking big deal just happened to me :)  So naturally, I worked out in those lovely shorts and instead of looking at my legs with disgust and shame throughout the workout as I had in the past, I looked at them and smiled with pride.  Damn!  I've got nice legs!!!




That, folks is my non-scale victory.  I hope you're inspired to keep on trucking, because although the scale may not budge you're changing your body's shape.

Happy sweating!

Round 3 done!

Today was day 21 of my third round, this round though was the 21 day fix EXTREME. I was crazy nervous to see my results and weigh myself, but evening came and the time was here. My results are... I am down 5.2 pounds in just 3 weeks!!!! I can hardly believe it! I haven't been measuring, just weighing and taking pictures, because I'm a very visual person and it means a lot more to me to see the difference. I am beyond proud of myself and am so excited for this next round to see if I can do just as well or better. A few pictures for you to see the difference.

 Both pictures on the left are my before photos. The pictures on the right are after 3 rounds. Im so impressed with the change. Down a total of 9 pounds in 9 weeks. I'll take it!

Keep up all the hard work. It is so worth it!

It doesn't get easier

I get stronger.


I hate the 21 day fix extreme.  I really do, but I've noticed it challenges me in more than one way and I love a good challenge.  I've been doing it for 20 days now and I still have a moment of hesitation and dread before pressing play... every... single... day.  No joke.  I can think of a million and a half reasons of why I don't have to do the workout each day, but the fact that each time I finish a workout I feel like I've completed a mini marathon gives me the get up and go to get her done!  The sweat dripping down my forehead and arms is such a feeling of accomplishment.  I am a very visual person and SEEING the sweat means that I'm doing it right and it feels great!  

Two weeks ago I hit a really hard point in my life, as a wife, mommy and a human being.  It was a lot of crap I was working through and trying to figure out what my place was among all the muck.  My workouts took a real hit and I skipped four days as I could hardly even get myself and the kids through the day, let along drag my bum through a tough workout.  It was probably exactly what I needed, but I just couldn't do it.  I was too sad, too tired and too frustrated to add one more thing to my list of "to do's".  Once that week was over and I picked up all the pieces and put myself back together, I realized that my life is not in my control and it's really frustrating for me and makes a person realize how vulnerable we are.  I didn't handle my difficulty as well as I could, I mean, my workouts ceased, my diet just happened and every night if I made it to bed alive, I was ok with that.  And you know what?  Sometimes that NEEDS to happen and you need to be ok with it.  If you just need to survive and skip out on the world, it's OK.  After the four days, I got back up on the horse and am feeling so much better now.  I feel like I have even more reason to work my tush off and to be strong for myself and those around me.  I'm not doing this for those around me, I'm doing it for myself, but by taking care of myself, I know I'll do a better job at all my jobs :)

I love how I feel after a hard workout and I'm going to continue to do this.  And if I need to take a week off because crap happens, I'm going to take that week.  Then I'll gather myself up and be stronger than before.  I really feel like every time I fall, I rise stronger.

Tomorrow is day 21!!!  I'm so excited and nervous to weigh and take pictures.  I did go and retrieve that scale after I tossed it out the window.  Figured I really did want some sort of number.  Oh!  and my pants are falling off!!!  So, that's awesome!  I've never been so thrilled at spending lots of money on Calvin Klein jeans only to not fit them two months later.  Lol!  That's supposed to happen when you workout, lose weight, right?  Awesome!!!

Keep working out and happy sweating!!!

Fallin' off the band wagon...OUCH!

I have had a very rough week... to say the least.  I have been super stressed, exhausted and frustrated among MANY other things all out of my control.  This hit me really hard when it came to sticking to the 21 day fix workouts and eating plan.  I just didn't have the time or energy to think that far ahead when it came to preparing foods or to give it the energy it takes to do the exercise program.  So I bombed. BIG TIME!  For four days straight, I could not find it in myself to get back up on the horse and make this fit into my hectic stressful day.  I couldn't and I didn't want to, because quite frankly, I didn't want to add one more thing to my already very painfully crowded brain.  You might wonder what I was doing over the past four days...ok, here goes: eating pizza, eating Cheeseburgers, eating french fries, chicken Tenders(yum!), drinking wine, drinking more wine, eating HALF a key lime pie(all by myself), corn dogs, beer, you name it, I probably ate it.  The interesting part of these horrible four days of food was, I wasn't binge eating, but eating out of convenience, because I was too busy to prep and actually THINK of what I was going to have.  Part of me was eating this food to spite the diet, because I had already fallen off the band wagon and hey, why not...but mostly it was because it takes time to prepare healthful meals and it takes brain power to make healthy decisions instead of eating whatever is in front of you.  And honestly, when you're so tired and beat down, I didn't give a crap about what I was eating because I was just done.  Done with all my struggles and I started to look at the 30 minute workout as just another thing on my to-do list, instead of "me time".  A refresher and breather for ME. 

Today, I started again with the workout and eating healthy and I'm hoping to do better for the rest of this 21 day fix extreme round, especially since I have high hopes for results.  Although, realistically speaking, I might've just crushed my chances at a huge difference this round because of this last bought with my food demons.  Was it worth it?  At the time, it was damn delicious!  But looking back, I'm sad that I added that much more time to my workout to burn those short enjoyed calories.

I've never been an emotional eater.  Emotional drinker, yes, but eater, no.  So this was very strange for me to see how crazy I was off the diet.  I felt chaotic and completely out of my skin and I didn't like it one bit.  It was really an odd side of me that I had never seen before.  My eating was really reflecting what I was going through mentally and physically with the chaos I was experiencing.

Let's pray that this clears up and my life becomes much more calm.

Happy sweating!!!

Size DOES matter

Resistance band size, that is :)  In doing some of these extreme workouts we use a resistance band.  I bought about 7 different bands before returning them all and purchasing the Beach Body bands, because they are about 4 inches longer than the standard band.  I was attempting the exercises with the standard band and almost folded myself into a pretzel!!!   We were aiming for a flying goose....  Any who, band size DOES matter for so many reasons and if you're going to be doing the 21 day fix extreme, go ahead and invest in the Beach Body bands.  You'll thank yourself for doing so. 

There are some pretty crazy band workouts and since I have never used a band in my life I felt pretty darn awkward.  I was all tied up, upside down and backward and still couldn't figure out which leg goes back and which arm goes forward.  Finally, with my sweet younger sister "coaching" me (more like yelling and laughing at me) I got my act together and figured it all out.  On the move called the Flying Goose,  I just kept telling myself, "I'm a beautiful goose."  "I'm going to be a beautiful goose."  Hey, you do whatever it takes to get yourself through those 60 seconds!  And maybe one day, I will be a beautiful goose!...I mean HUMAN!!!

The day after leg day, ie. band day, I am really feeling my buns and thighs and that's so great!  It takes a lot for me to get the burn in these thighs because they've always been the strongest part of my body, but these workouts are finally challenging them in ways they've never felt and I'm so excited to be seeing dips and grooves that mean muscle.  Not cellulite. :P

I'm sweating a lot more during workouts now.  Not like you really needed to know, but this extreme program, yeah, it's pretty darn extreme.  My clothes aren't fitting a whole lot different as of yet.  The pants are lose around the waist and saggy in the bum, which is fabulous!  But I'm still waiting for big change.  It's easy to get caught up in the immediate gratification and expectation of a perfect body in just 21 days, but I have to keep reminding myself that I've only been at this 2.5 rounds.  That's a total of about 7 weeks!!!  Not that long.  But then, I think about the changes my body has made in just 7 weeks and holy cow it's awesome!  I'm gaining amazing toned arms, my thighs are coming along quite nicely, in fact someone said the other day that my thighs are smaller than hers now.  BIG SMILE :D  Let's not forget that I'm Puerto Rican and we come by large thighs naturally, so this is huge news and something to celebrate!!!

So, until next time,
Happy sweating!!!

21 Day Fix Extreme

So, I did the 21 day fix extreme cardio workout yesterday and it was ridiculous!  I cannot believe this is real stuff that people do to get in shape!  I feel great after each workout is over and I haven't died...I mean, it's a huge accomplishment some of the moves I'm doing.  Holy cow, I feel like after I'm done with this journey, if it ever ends, I should get an award or a trophy or something shiny to put on my mantle.  Seriously Beach Body, this is crazy stuff!  I think the cardio workout is officially the one workout I HATE, yes HATE the most.  It bites!  The 21 day fix cardio was rotten and the 21 day fix EXTREME is even worse.  Funny thing is, I didn't think it could get much worse.  I've got every muscle in my body screaming at me and I just tell myself, one exercise at a time, 60 seconds at a time.  If you watched Autumn demo each exercise that you are to do next, any sane person would turn off the DVD, go grab a beer and call it quits.  Watching her do them is nuts and I'M supposed to be able to just grab a pair of weights and have at it?  Man, I have never felt more uncoordinated in my life!  Let's just say, I'm so glad there are no cameras or anyone outside my immediate family watching me, because at times it's really not pretty.  And I'm not even talking about the dripping sweat, crazy sticky hair and workout pants falling off my bum.  It's a scary sight folks!  It's a scary sight.  BUT, you know what?  In 6 months, I should be rockin' this scary sight and blowin' minds.  That's the plan anyway... :)

In the meantime, I am honing in more than ever on the clean eating portion of this program.  I figure if I'm going to literally kill myself over the workouts, I'd better be eating right to make it all worth it and get the results I deserve.  And yes, you bet I deserve them after what I'm putting myself through.  And I'm so excited to see those results!  Every day I notice a little something about my body that shows me this is all working.  I'm really looking forward to my 6 month photos and weigh in!

Cheers y'all and happy sweating!

Round 2 Complete

It's been 21 days since I started round 2 of my 21 day fix.  I have been feeling strong and confident and doing great only skipping one day of exercise.  My eating has been 80% good with the occasional cheat here or there.  After last round's bummer results I took this round less strict with the diet simply because I was somewhat crushed and giving myself time to "heal" mentally.  So, after these past three weeks I am happy to say I am down another 1.2 pounds, but better yet, my back fat is GONE!!!  That's right folks, no more back fat for this woman!  It's funny, I feel like I still look the same and I still feel the same.  The only difference is my pants have started falling down a bit.  I know this is a great sign whether the scale reflects it or not.  So, things are shifting and moving and my body is sculpting and toning.  Seeing my before picture, round 1 picture and round 2 pictures, it is amazing to see all the changes I have made!  My body image has been distorted for so many years, it's really hard for me to notice any change, but the pictures are proof that this program is working for me and I'm loving it!  As far as the scale and body measurements go, I'm going to rely mainly on my post-round pictures for a while, because it's really distracting for me to focus so much on numbers that I don't have the power to change as fast as I feel they should.  I find it almost unmotivating to step on the scale and see such a small difference for the amount of work I put in.  I find it very empowering to FEEL the changes through my clothes, the way I look in the mirror and the way others comment on my changing body.  This is what works to help me succeed.

Now that I can see things are working, I have decided to move on to the 21 day fix extreme for round three. Yesterday was round one day one of extreme and boy was it hard!  Oh my gosh, I thought my legs were going to fail on me and I almost collapsed right there into a sad sweaty puddle of Lisa.  It is definitely one of the hardest workouts I have ever done!  I am very excited and hopeful that this fix extreme is going to produce super visible sculpting results.

Wish me luck!

Until next time, happy sweating!

(Here are the photos of before, after one round and after two rounds.  I'm a very visual person and this is super inspiring and motivating for me.)

Burpees

As of today, I can officially do burpees!!!  And oh my goodness are they HARD!  I never knew what I was missing...until now.  Those suckers just work every single muscle in your body and they let you feel it!  I didn't know something could be so difficult.  I also didn't know how excited I would get from being able to do that silly little combination of moves called a burpee.  So needless to say, I am proud of myself.  Very proud of myself.

Also, a new personal record is I did one whole minute of cross jacks.  Now all of you on the 21 day fix program know just how hard those are.  Or, maybe they're not hard at all and I'm just a really big whimp???  Whatever it is, I am so darn excited that I FINALLY was able to do one full minute without going to the modification.  (Thanks to my big sister Laura for cheering me on those last 20 seconds :)

I am almost done with round two of my 21 day fix and I am definitely seeing some improvements in my strength and endurance and I'm loving it!  I'm not noticing any physical changes yet, but that's ok.  For now, my milestones of being able to do the full 60 seconds of each workout is enough to make me do the happy dance!  As for my sadness at gaining a few pounds two weeks ago, I have done a LOT of reading on the science of weight loss and muscle building and I'm really not too worried about what the scale says.  I can FEEL my body changing inside.  It's just a matter of time before that change is able to be seen on the outside.  And boy oh boy can I hardly wait!!!

One thing I am learning a lot of on this program is... patience.  When I first started this program, I really took to heart what Autumn says, "in 21 days you'll have the body you always wanted!"  NOT TRUE!  And I'm not saying this to be a pessimist or a jerk at all.  I'm saying it because it's simply not true. I think people (especially myself) are too used to instant gratification and 21 days of exercise and diet sounds like a pretty awesome instant fix to me!  But it's not.  It really isn't.  And for a few weeks there, I mourned the easy weight loss journey I thought I was on.  You see, I figured I would do the program for 21 days, have amazing results, lose the 20 pounds and be done!  But no, this program happens to be a life-style change... as it should be.  It was a little misleading the idea that in 21 days you could have such incredible results.  I guess some people do, but as they say, "results vary" or "results not typical" is so true.  I'm learning that it is a transformation that takes time, commitment and passion.  It really is a labor of love...a labor for the body you deserve and the lifestyle you dream of.

Nothing can be fixed overnight or in 21 days, but with dedication you can do anything and you'll be even more proud of the results after you've put out some sweat. blood and tears.  The last two weeks were the tears for me, I've been sweating since day 1, so now I've gotta throw some blood into the mix and I should be golden! :)

Until next time,
Happy sweating my friends!

I've changed my mind

I made a mistake a few days ago and just one week into round 2 of my 21 day fix I stepped on the scale.  To my surprise, I was UP 4 pounds!!!!!  What the heck!?!?!?!  I stepped off and back on that scale 3 more times to verify the ungodly number.  And yes, every time it said I had gained 4 pounds.  It took all my strength and will power to not pick that blasted scale up and hurl it through my bathroom window while screaming like a mad woman!  This isn't fair!  I'm working too hard for this!  What in the world is going on???  All of these questions ran through my mind as I found my computer as quickly as possible and vented to my beach body coach.  She was so sweet, affirming and very compassionate about the dilemma I was facing.  And believe me, this was a very real dilemma.  We dissected my eating plan, time of month, salt intake, water intake, stress levels, etc. and decided who the heck knows what is wrong with me!  So... I have changed my mind that instead of using the 21 day fix as a weight loss program, I am going to use it as a strengthening and toning program.  That way I am not discouraged when the scale shows little decrease or even an increase.  And, that scale is being thrown away.  I don't need no negativity like that in my life!  :)  

This weight gain has been such a frustrating time for me, because I have never gotten such opposite results than what I was working so hard for.  I really feel like I have no control over what's going on, because even though I'm doing what I'm supposed to, my body is doing it's very own thing.  I'm kind of out of sync with myself and it's an odd feeling.  So I will admit, because of this major let down, I have slacked a little...okay a lot on my eating plan.  It didn't help this happened over my birthday week and family party.  I'm not over-eating, just not clean eating and definitely not 21 day fix eating.  I am still working out daily including abs and tomorrow I promise myself I will get back on the bandwagon, lest I weigh myself in 2 weeks and weigh MORE than my starting weight.  That would just be grand.


So, cheers to falling and catching yourself.  I can do this.  We all can do this.  I am strong.  I will CONQUER!!!!

Happy Sweating!

Mind Games

I'm not sure if I'm starving myself to death or if it's just this point in any dedicated lifestyle change that your mind starts playing games with you.  I've found myself having conversations in my head similar to, "hey, you only lost 2.6 pounds the first round, maybe this program isn't working for you".  Or "maybe you aren't losing weight because you're starving yourself", which I think is not the case because I'm never hungry.  Anyway, something inside me is either lazy or afraid to fully commit to this program.  I know it was a huge let down to not have lost big the first 21 days and I hate the idea that I might just be losing 2.6 pounds(or less) every 21 day cycle.  That will take me 10 months to get to my goal and that just bites!  It's really a strange inner turmoil the decision that I have to make daily, convincing myself that even if I'm not losing significant weight, this exercise is so good for me for so many reasons.  It makes me feel better about myself, gives me something to look forward to anticipating the awesome toned body I'm going to have and it helps me clear my mind.  For just 30 minutes every day, I get to focus on... nothing.  Just the raw physical exhaustion of pushing myself to the limit every day for 30 minutes.  No decisions to make, no one to direct, I can just step back and command my body to do something and it does. 

I love sweating.  It makes me feel alive, like I'm accomplishing something.  Maybe that's why I'm expecting to see results, because I have been sweating buckets!  Well, regardless of the visible physical results, I am becoming stronger.  Both physically and mentally.

And after that lower body workout, I am really feeling it physically, in my BUM!  :)

Happy Sweating!  

Day 21...The weigh in

Well, 21 days are over and quite honestly I didn't want to blog tonight after weighing, measuring and seeing my results.  I'm disappointed.  Frustrated and quite honestly ticked.  Maybe I was expecting too much, but I'm not thrilled with my results.  I started this program at 167.8 pounds.  Tonight I weighed in at 165.2 pounds.  That's a whopping -2.6 pounds.  All of my measurements are very close to what they were 21 days ago, so I won't bore you with those numbers.  I feel like I worked so much harder than a measly 2.6 pounds!  I followed the eating program incredibly closely to a "T" and did the workout program more faithfully than anything, yet my numbers stink.  After weighing and re-weighing, measuring and re-measuring I contacted my coach.  She is very encouraging and reminded me that I did say I'm feeling stronger and the exercises are becoming easier.  She also asked if I was eating ALL of my containers each day...I wasn't.  I haven't been hungry enough to get down so much food!  Then I was kindly reminded that you can go into starvation mode if your body isn't getting enough calories.  I was also reminded that the equivalent of almost 2 and 3/4 pounds of fat when comparing it to blocks of butter is a pretty decent loss!  After much encouragement, I was happy with the loss.l  I'll take losing 2.6 pounds over nothing...  Note to self for round two, eat ALL of the containers each day and push harder in the workouts.  I'm not quite sure how I can push harder, but I've gotta do something, because at this rate it's going to take me over a year to get to my goal weight and that's just ridiculous!

Maybe I'm being too hard on myself.  All I know is that I'm not giving up and this next round I'll be just as hopeful to see positive results.  No matter what happens, I am building a healthier happier me and I love how I feel.  It's amazing how doing something good for yourself can give you a mental lift just as much as a physical one.

I hope you are getting good results on whatever workout program you do, even if you lose just a pound or two. Google search "visual of one pound of fat"

Feel better???

YOU'RE WELCOME!  :)

Happy Sweating!!!

Day 20

Whew!  Today is day 20 of the 21 Day Fix and I am really excited about tomorrow!  I have done this entire workout and only missed one day.  I'm very proud of myself and so hopeful of the results.

Today's workout was the full body cardio and I was not looking forward to it.  I have been feeling sick the last few days with a headache and just all around yucky feeling, but I have decided to continue with the workouts, because it's too easy to make an excuse and fall out of the routine.  I figured if I was really sick and I puked, then I'd give myself a break, but that didn't happen so hey, I must not be that bad after all!

My mind and body are syncing really well and are a lot more cooperative with the idea of a daily exercise program.  When my body wants to quit, my mind is strong and when my mind wants to quit, my body is strong.  21 days is what it takes to break a bad habit and create a new one and I think I have officially created the habit of daily exercise and I love it!  I have more energy and it is a designated 30 minutes all to myself.  The kids go to their rooms and play quietly or read a book and they know that if they bother mom during her workout all hell will break loose!!!  :)

I'll be posting my results tomorrow night after my final workout, then it's on to round 2!  I am going to do the 21 day fix one more time and do my best not to modify any workouts.  Then I have the Insanity Max 30 coming in the mail and I think that might just be my next program.  Until then...


Happy Sweating!!!

Planks

Today I have a victory to celebrate.  I did a plank, on my toes for an entire 60 seconds!!!  That's right everyone, no longer am I a knee planker, I am officially a toe planker and proud of it!!!!  Planking has been one of the hardest workouts for me in this 21 day fix routine, but finally after 16 days, I have become strong enough to plank it!  Yay!  :)

I've noticed a few things throughout these workouts over the past weeks.  One being, I DO have abs.  I cannot see them, but boy can I feel them!  I have had a very difficult time finding my abs and tightening them, pulling them in as we're supposed to do, however, at some point I think my abs caught on and showed up to the party, because I am engaging them like it's nobodys business!!!  I LOVE that I have found my core, although it's not always steady and strong it can only get better from here.

A second thing I learned.  I sweat like a pig when I'm working my bum off.  I have NEVER sweat more during ANY workout as I did last night in the lower body fix.  HOLY COW!!!  We're talking the kind of dripping sweat onto the mat sweaty sweat!  The kind of I'm sticky and stinky, but feeling so hot because look at what I'm doing sweat!  I know I'm getting in a good workout when sweat is literally dripping down every part of my body.  It's gross, but it's productive and I know it's making a difference.

I will be weighing myself on day 21 and sharing the results.  I can hardly wait to see what difference I've made in these 21 days.  To help with this weight loss and exercise plan, I have ordered the Fixate cookbook to help with creative food ideas.  I've become entrenched... entrenched in a boring, safe food habit.  One that is working with the portion control and food groups, but one that cannot be maintained, because it is getting boring.  I'm talking carrots, cauliflower and grapes...over and over and over and over and over.  You get the picture.  I'm really excited for the cookbook to arrive.  REALLY EXCITED!!!

Happy sweating and goodnight!

I ATE FRIED CHICKEN!!!!

AAAAAHHHHHHHhhhhhhhh!!!!!   Autumn Calabrese would kill me!!!!  One of my weaknesses, fried chicken, for some crazy reason Scott was craving today.  He NEVER cares for fried chicken, but you guessed it.  Smack in the middle of my 21 day fix, he decides he really needs fried chicken for lunch.  So off to the store he goes. 

I was so determined to stay away from the chicken and be content munching on my grapes, tomatoes and cucumbers, but the smell of the delicious, saturated, deep fat fried, MSG coated chicken filled the air and then it was RIGHT THERE.  Sitting in front of me to dish out onto all the kids plates for lunch.  I was so strong, I got them their plates with chicken and grapes and once everyone was served I walked back into the kitchen and like a flippin' starving woman grabbed a chicken leg and devoured it in 10 seconds flat!!!  Holy cow!  Where did that come from!?!?!?  It's like I didn't even think about it.  The old me had reared her ugly head and grabbed the food and shoved it down my throat!!!!  And it was soooo goooooood.....

Get control of yourself, Lisa!  One chicken leg and half a thigh later, I walked away.  What had I just done???  I felt like crap.  Quite honestly, I had just binged and I felt like I had undone all the work I had been doing the last 2 weeks.  And for what?  Fried chicken?  Really?  Wow, people's weaknesses are so strange.  Luckily, I hadn't done my workout for today, so I hit it hard and did the upper body workout digging extra deep and pushing harder than before.  And after that, in the hopes of clearing my body and conscience of that stupid chicken, I did the 10 minute abs.  And boy, 40 minutes of work made me feel a little better about the chicken.  Not perfect, but less guilty.  Next time, I hope I'll just skip the chicken so I don't have to torture myself trying to burn it off later.  It's amazing the games our head can play on us and how there can be such an inner battle over something as silly as fried chicken!  I'm not a foodie or anything, but man, today was a tough one. 

Right now, I'm drinking my Shakeology with banana, peanut butter and sunflower seeds , so we're back on track.  For the rest of the day and this whole weight loss journey, I'm going to be extra careful to not let small temptations set me off track.  I literally felt like the Tazmanian Devil.  CRAZY! 

I hope that by sharing my weaknesses and successes, I can encourage you to keep on going!

Happy sweating!

Too hot!!!

This past Saturday I decided to take all the kids to the fair.  Of course it was 100 degrees that day, so it was the worlds #1 bright idea.  We all had a great time being sweaty petting the animals and watching magic tricks, but there was a severe shortage of water-filling stations.  We brought two large water bottles and ran out pretty quickly.  By the time we got home, pretty much all of us had headaches.  I'm guessing it was minor heat stroke, brilliant!  Right?  Way to go mom!  I hydrated, they hydrated, we all hydrated and they went to bed....but I could not.  You see, I hadn't done my 21 day fix workout for the day and I am determined NOT to owe Scott $1 and admit that I can't stick to something for 21 short days.  I laid on the sofa for 30 minutes hoping my head would catch up to me and I'd feel well enough to do a half decent workout.  Well, 30 minutes later my head was still spinning and my bed was sounding REALLY nice.  Everyone was already asleep and I was exhausted, so call it an excuse or heat stroke ( I prefer the later:) I sadly did not do my workout on Saturday :(  I was SO bummed!!!  I couldn't even do 21 days of working out!?!?!?  Wow....laaaame.

Hours later, ok, the next day.   My pity party was over.  I decided I was NOT a failure and you know what?  I had worked out for 10 days straight without fail!  Maybe I'm not so lame after all!  I felt better about myself, but I wasn't ready to become an official slacker and make skipping workouts a routine.  The very next day we left for vacation in Bend and you know what I did? I packed my yoga mat and both sets of weights into my duffle bag and hauled those mothers all the way to Bend with my workout DVD in tow!  I was NOT giving up and I was NOT taking a vacation from my dream of a new me.  Bend was just going to have to understand that I am a woman on a mission and no one messes with that!

All 3 days in Bend I did my workouts.  I was SO proud!  One night Scott was watching and said he didn't think he'd be able to do half the stuff I was doing.  That made me happy :)  BIG SMILE.  I just hope all this work pays off and that I start to notice a change in my body. Crossing fingers!

Happy Sweating! 

Day 9

As I sit here writing, sweat is dripping down every crevasse of my body.  And I mean EVERY.  It doesn't help that today is 100 degrees out, although in my house it's a lovely73, so that means I have no excuse not to do my 21 day fix workout...darn.  I'm hot.  Not as in sexy lady!  But as in H-O-T and disgustingly sweaty.  I literally just finished the workout 3 minutes ago and am writing while my day and exercise is all fresh and smelly.  So, today was day two of working at the hospital a 9 hour day.  And needless to say, having a 4 month old and waking every couple hours during the night does not make for a well rested woman.  I'm tired, I'm grumpy and the last thing I wanted to do was get in my workout.  I wanted to make every excuse under the sun, but anyone can do that...so I have to be different if I want different results.  Different kind of sucked tonight...ok, majorly sucked, but I sure as heck am expecting some incredible results!  I'm not doing this kind of self inflicted torture because I'm crazy, right???  I mean, I am going to see a difference and feel a difference, RIGHT? 

Oh well, trust the program.  It's worked for thousands of people already, so it can work for me too.  Here's a shout out to all you ladies (and gentlemen) that are following me.  Keep it up!  You can do this one day at a time.  One horrible, miserable, beautifully sweaty workout at a time.  We will reach our goals!  Yay us!  :) 

By the way, my new nickname is "rabbit" because I'm constantly munching on fruits, veggies and proteins to get in all my containers.  I feel like all I do is EAT! 


Take care and sweat hard,
21 day fixin' momma signing out!

In the beginning...

It was a hot July evening and on a whim at a BBQ I decided to order the Beach Body 21 day fix clean eating and exercise program from a dear friend of mine who was a coach.  I thought if my friend could lose over 100 pounds on this program, then I could definitely shed the last 30 pounds lingering from my fifth child.

$140 later the package arrived with the portion containers, eating guide, Shakeology and workout DVDs.  This was it. Now that I had bought it, I had to follow through or I'd be hearing it from my wonderful husband who is super supportive in all my crazy endeavors.  Besides, he bet me that if I couldn't make it 21 days straight on the program doing the workouts I'd owe him $1 for every day that I missed, which in this family is a big deal!  There's no way I'm going to give him free coffees from my lack of willpower or unwillingness to succeed, so the game was on! ...Besides, I wanted to feel sexy again and if it took money to motivate me, even just $1, THEN SO BE IT!

Day 1, I did the Total Body Cardio Fix.  I'm not going to lie.  It was intense!  I was sweating and shaking and totally impressed that I didn't die half way through!  Day 2...that's a different story.  You see, day 1 was so rigorous and apparently I am so out of shape that I could hardly move by day 2...and 3...and 4.  It was so bad I was using the elderly bars in the bathrooms to lower myself down to the toilet.  Not a pretty sight for a 29 year old.  We haven't even talked about stairs yet!  Yeah, that was like a snail race, painfully lifting one food in front of the other using the railing to pull myself up the steps.  I'm sure I looked awesome to onlookers.  So needless to say, there was no working out on days 2-4...   Way to start a program eh? :P

After the 4 recovery days and completely abandoning the program, I decided I was ready to start again, now knowing what to expect.  I went grocery shopping for greens, fruits and proteins.  I decided, instead of starting with that same horrible day 1 workout I jumped to #2 Upper Fix.  Ahhh....so much better!  Still intense and a sweaty hard workout, but at least I could walk like a normal person after it was over.

Around day 5 of my workouts fell on a Sunday... donut day at Church.  I was so strong, determined to eat clean and stay the course.  And I did!  That is until my 2 year old asked me to hold his apple fritter while he went and played.  Let's just say, one smell led to a nibble, led to a bite and next thing I know, HALF the darn thing was gone!!!  Dang it!!!!  I was SO upset with myself!  I had been doing so good and being so strong and here a stilly little sugary beautiful donut was my demise.  Blast it all!  Needless to say, all of Sunday I was a little down on myself, but I decided instead of quitting the program calling it too restrictive, I would pick back up and go at it even harder with more vengeance...on Monday.  Next time I will NOT eat the lovely donut!!!

Throughout the rest of the week the workouts were amazing.  I could feel myself getting stronger every day.  Sweating like a pig, yes, but stronger and more able to do them without being crippled the next day.  It was awesome!  I was shaking and dripping from parts of my body I didn't even know had sweat glands!  Holy cow, if this isn't fat burning progress, I don't know what is!  As of yesterday, my week  one was completed.  I have two weeks of the 21 day fix left and I am so nervous, anxious and excited to see the results.  I don't feel or notice a whole lot of change in myself except my shorts are fitting a tad better.  Otherwise, not much difference in anything.  I'm not going to weigh or measure myself until the 21 days are over and I will share results with you then.  FYI I started out at 167.8 pounds.

Thanks for joining me on this journey and I am so excited to share it with you.  I am so hopeful that this change will be the new me.   A happier, healthier, more confident woman who loves her body even more than I do today.