It's the Little Things-Weight Loss Update (Week 27)

This week, I will just put it out there that I didn't see much progress. In fact, even in looking at myself, I feel like my stomach is looking bigger. I know this is not the right mindset to have, since it's probably a little self-defeating, but that's what has been going through my head. And it may be a little true. I unofficially changed my ratios of proteins, carbs, and fats. I think I'm eating a little less protein and a little more carbs than I had been, so that may be the reason for the progress stopping. The program that I'm currently doing has their eating plan set up differently than the previous two programs that I've done. The previous ones will tell you to eat, for instance, 5 proteins, 3 fats, and 6 carbs (and they break some of those even further). This one just gives you some recipes, but doesn't really recommend what ratios you need to do, so I've been loosely staying with what I had been doing with P90X3, but not as strictly. In fact, I haven't been too careful about snacking.

So I think I need to reread some of my previous blog posts and remind myself of all of the things I've said about non-scale victories and all of that. One thing that I noticed this morning, that after about a month of lifting weights with my Pump program, I did push-ups today and found it even easier than it had been when I was doing P90X3. (I didn't have to do as many, but you know, it still counts!) Also, I can see overall that I'm not as wide as I used to be. And I'm pretty pleased with the progress in my legs so far.

Anyway, no additional weight loss this week, BUT I'm getting stronger! Sometimes, it's just the little things!

Six Months In...Weight Loss Update (Week 26)

I'm at week 26, which means that I'm halfway through my first year of my new lifestyle. On July 19, 2014, I signed up to be a Beachbody coach. What I knew, was that I was at the heaviest weight I had ever been (not being pregnant), I wasn't happy with how I looked or felt, and signing up as a coach meant that I was going to get started exercising and try to make some changes. What I didn't know yet, was that I really was going to stick with it and see results, it was going to affect so many more areas in my life than JUST my physical fitness, and that I would be so excited to help others start on a similar journey.

I've been leading an accountability group, that we call a "challenge group," for the last week (really, two weeks with the "introductory week." If you don't know what a challenge group is like, basically, everyone works out on their own to a Beachbody program of their choice. The group typically lasts 4 weeks, and the group members commit to eating healthy and drinking Shakeology. I was excited to start it, because I know every one of them from different points in my life. They all were excited to get started and ready to be healthier. I have been SO BLOWN AWAY at how they have all supported and encouraged each other. It's so exciting to see! And I know that they'll see some great results soon.

During the last week, I've still been back on track with my working out motivation. And I guess with my eating, too. I am doing a hybrid of Les Mills' Combat (martial arts-based) and Les Mills' Pump.(weightlifting), but I decided that I was missing my weekly flexibility that I've gotten used to. The Pump program does have a yoga workout, called Flow. However, I didn't like it as well as X3 Yoga, so one day last week, I felt like I needed to just do that workout, so I did. Then, I decided that I'm going to modify my hybrid workout schedule. It's pretty much set up to do the Pump workouts on Mon, Wed, and Fri with the Combat workouts on Tues, Thurs, and Sat. I decided to keep it that way, except change the Saturday workout out for either X3 Yoga or one of the PiYo workouts in order to get some flexibility in there. And I'll do those on Sundays before I go to church.

So, yesterday I did PiYo Sweat. I felt like I was seeing an old friend that I hadn't seen in a while. I also could see some improvement in how I did, compared to what I was able to do back in August and September. It was pretty cool!

I do have to say, two weeks ago I fell when I was walking down my porch steps, and I bruised my tailbone. It still hurts, and it's kept me from doing certain moves as fully as I'd like to. But, I think it's starting to feel a little better, so hopefully I'll be back at 100% pretty soon.

Anyway, this week I lost another pound. I have to admit, it does feel good to see the numbers going down again. But, even when I wasn't, I knew that ultimately my healthy choices were paying off in how I felt and how my body was responding. So, if you're on your own journey, and you aren't seeing weight loss like you'd like, just stick with it and know that you're getting stronger and healthier.

Weight Loss Update (Week 25)

I've taken a couple of weeks off from my weight loss update, because of being sick, on vacation, going back to work, and just getting back in the swing of things. Well, one of those weeks, I did post my current before-after pictures.

So, the holidays are over, I'm getting back into the routine, and I should be completely back on track, right? Sort of. Overall. I'm getting there.

As for my workouts, it took me a couple of days to get my motivation back, but it's back, and I'm excited to see what progress I make with my current program. I'm doing both Les Mills' Pump and Les Mills' Combat. It's a hybrid schedule created by Beachbody. Pump uses barbells and focuses on what they call the "rep effect." It's doing many reps with a relatively light weight. Combat is basically mixed martial arts, which I've always liked to do as a workout. I'm starting my second week, and today's workout (Pump & Burn) was a little tougher than the ones I had done last week. I am already feeling some soreness in my muscles, which always says something. Now, I have to admit, I'm NOT excited that some of these workouts are going to be 45 or even 60 minutes. I will definitely be missing my 30 minute P90X3 workouts then! I'm even tempted to create my own schedule, and only do the 30 or 45 minute workouts (and maybe add in my X3 Yoga). But, one of my friends who is currently in my challenge group, is so motivated that she's getting up at 4 AM when she needs to do get her workout done. THAT'S dedication! (Check out her blog...http://annromagnolo.blogspot.com)

I finally got past my little holiday plateau that I was on for the last couple of months. This last week I lost 2 more pounds, so I'm finally at 25 pounds! I was really excited!

Confessions

Confession time. I haven't worked out in a week.

I totally was planning to. I had the 21 Day Fix program workouts typed in my iPhone calendar (although I later decided that I was going to actually revisit my PiYo workout). I finished P90X3 on the 27th, and I was planning to start my next workout on the 5th. But I got sick. Since I was between programs, I decided not to push myself, and just to let myself get some rest. Also, we went out of town on the 1st and just came back today. So, other than walking around Disney yesterday, I have not had any normal exercise since the 27th. And I FEEL it. I miss it.

I'm ready to get back into my exercise routine, because it just plain makes me feel a lot better! Granted, I've been sick, so I'm sure that contributed to how I've been feeling, too. But I've missed the energy, the confidence, the overall healthy feeling that my daily workouts give me.

So, I start back tomorrow. Ready or not.

One Word 2015

About two years ago, I first heard of the concept of "One Word" or "One Little Word," depending on whose website you're on. I don't know who originated the concept, but the idea is that you choose a word to focus on for the year, rather than a New Year's Resolution. I semi-participated in 2013, choosing the word "fulfill." But, like most resolutions, I sort of lost sight of my word. For 2014, I chose the word "light." If you'd like, check out this post from one of my other blogs, where I explain my reasoning even further. This year, I definitely remembered my word more, and thought about it. It's funny, I had all of these definitions for light, but little did I know that I would actually lose weight and become "lighter."

So as 2014 has come to an end, I've been thinking about what word I wanted to choose in 2015. I had thought about doing this last year and decided not to, but this year, I signed up for a class with Ali Edwards. She is a scrapbooker/blogger, and she has a year-long online class to help people reflect on their word by providing monthly prompts. You end up making some sort of album with all of your reflections. I'm pretty excited about it, mostly because I want to see the change in my life, and the word that I'm going to go with goes right along with some of the books I've been reading recently.

Lately I've been thinking about my tendency to be more about thoughts and ideas and less about doing and follow-through. I've been getting better at that, I think, but I want to really work at that this year.

That's why I am picking the word "push." To me, it reflects what I want to see happen in 2015...truly striving toward my goals. Some of the definitions I like are "to carry (an action or thing) toward a conclusion," "to make one's way with effort or persistence, as against difficulty or opposition," and "to put forth vigorous or persistent efforts."

While I believe in setting goals for the new year, I think resolutions are a little overrated. But, new years are a time to reflect on the things you did well, the things that you could improve, and decide what you're going to do to improve. What word would you choose for the new year?