Week 31: Time for a Refresh

Time to get real. I have been off my nutrition game lately, and I'm starting to see the difference.

I'm still working out 6 days a week, and I'm sure that my added muscle tone is helping me out with an increased metabolism. HOWEVER, they say that abs are created in the kitchen, and it's pretty evident in my (fl)abs right now that I am not eating great. I haven't been careful with my eating like I had been when I first started getting healthy. And that happens every once in a while, but I usually get back on track right away. But, first we went to the fair, then we went to Disney, and then my Girl Scout cookies order came in. I swear, Thin Mints are like crack or something. Well, I went back up a pound, then the next week another pound, and now I've gained back a total of about 4 pounds. Which means I had lost 27 pounds, but now it's back down to 23 pounds.

Wake up call!

So, I decided that, of course, I need to refocus my nutrition and get back to my right ratios of proteins, carbs, and fats. But, I also decided that I was going to do Beachbody's 3 Day Refresh in order to get a kickstart. I've wanted to try this for a while, and I figured this would be the perfect time to go ahead and do it, so I ordered it. Now, I don't know much about it yet (it just came in today), but I know that I'll drink one of my Shakeology shakes everyday. There also is some sort of fiber drink, and you can eat some fruits, veggies, and healthy fats. There also are some dinner recipes. I will definitely keep you updated when I start it (March 3 is the planned date).

I'm excited to see some results, both from the Refresh, and just from getting back on board with my nutrition, too.

Week 30: WHY I am a Beachbody Coach

Even though I would normally post an update on my weight loss, I wanted to use this blog post to talk about WHY I have decided to be a Beachbody coach, and my journey from that perspective.

I first got started, really because my husband signed me up. As far as the business side of being a coach went, I wanted nothing to do with it. And I told my husband that. I said that he could do it, but that I wasn't going to. I knew I needed to lose some weight, and I was all up for that. (Even though I secretly wondered how long we would really stick with this.) So, my WHY initially was to become healthy myself. If you've been following along, you know that I have lost 27 pounds. But, it didn't take that long for me to realize that God had brought Beachbody into our lives. And that meant that I needed to go for it the best that I could.

You see, a lot of times, I write my prayers in my journal. On July 15, 2014, I prayed for many things, including to lose weight, to find some good friends, and to get out of debt quickly. On July 19, Jason saw an invitation to join a challenge group for P90X3, and as he decided to join, he also decided to sign (both of us) up as a coach. As we found out more about how everything worked, I saw that the answers to the prayers I had just prayed could all lie right in this new venture.

So then, in addition to wanting to be healthy, my WHY became more about finding financial freedom. This one is really important to me. We have been able to work toward that pretty well since we started in July. But, I'm also beginning to see some unintended, unexpected WHYs pop up in my mind. For one, I have seen more of an entrepreneurial spirit develop in me. Since I've always worked in the school system, I've never had the situation of being responsible for developing a business, but it's a pretty cool thing to think about. I've never been interested in the cutthroat business world, but there is something to be said about setting goals and then working to achieve them. And I get to do that without having to be in the cutthroat world. Plus, Beachbody recognizes even the small achievements, like when I got promoted to an Emerald coach in January.

Throughout the now 30 weeks that I've been sharing my journey, I've been told that I am inspiring and encouraging others. That is really nice to hear. And now that I'm running my own challenge/accountability groups, I am really wanting to help others get healthier. So that is another big WHY for me. In fact, I really believe that a lot of people are missing out on fulfilling their purpose in life simply because they are tired and unhealthy. And I would like to help people get healthy so that they have the energy to fulfill the purpose of their life.

Do you know your purpose? Are you achieving it? If not, is it because you are tired and unhealthy? If so, I'd like to help! Just let me know!

Fitness Journey Week 29 and One Word 2015 Update

I can't believe that I've been on this fitness journey for 29 weeks already. Even though I was overweight, I'm really feeling so much different now, and I can't imagine going back to just eating whatever and not working out.

I've said this before, but it really is second nature now for me to get up so early, get dressed in my workout clothes, and go out to our detached-garage-turned-gym to do my workout. And I really enjoy that alone time, too. It's just me, my video, my weights, and knowing that I'm improving myself. I can feel that I'm getting stronger, too, with my Pump workouts.

I will say that my nutrition is not as on-point as it was when I first started. I have my moments, but I'm just not being AS careful as I was, or as I think I should. But, I'm still making progress, and this week I lost another pound, bringing my total to 27 pounds lost since July!

I also wanted to update a bit on my One Word. I wrote about the word I chose for 2015, "Push," in this post. I have to say, I have second-guessed picking a word that means moving obstacles. When I picked it, I was feeling very confident and optimistic about the new year. Don't we usually feel that way about a new year? Now, I'm not saying that I'm not confident or optimistic now, but I am saying that I've had the opportunity to experience obstacles this year. A LOT of them. Just in the fitness realm, at the beginning of January I fell down my steps and bruised my tailbone. That hurt for a while, but it's feeling better now. Then a couple of weeks ago, I twisted my ankle while holding my daughter, so I tried to keep from falling with her. My foot was swollen for a couple of days, and it's actually still sore just a bit. In the emotional realm, let's just say I have a 3-year-old. Haha, but seriously, we've had some situations where we are needing to teach her acceptable boundaries and teach her to listen to us, and that just creates some obstacles. So, little did I know that choosing the word PUSH would cause me to be put in situations that would force me to push through, but that's what's happened.

Anyway, I WILL keep pushing to my next goal. I still want to lose 13 pounds by the end of April. And I want to continue to develop my character, so I'm okay (sort of) with the obstacles that I've experienced so far this year.

28 Weeks Later...Progress Pictures

For anyone who hasn't read my journey yet, I was at my heaviest weight in July 2014. I was not very happy with how I looked, but I had pretty much zero motivation to do anything about it.

Then came Beachbody. After signing up as a coach, I participated in accountability groups that helped provide the motivation that I had been missing. I have now lost 26 pounds, plus 7 percent body fat and 7 inches in my waist. Woohoo! And I feel SOOO much better! I'm not done yet, I still have about 9 to 14 pounds that I want to lose.

This last week in my Pump and Combat workouts (I'm doing a hybrid schedule of the two that was created by Beachbody), it was more of a transition week, kind of like how P90X3 is set up. Instead of lifting weights with Pump, it was more High Interval Intensity Training, so there were some plyometric-type exercises. Whew! I was exhausted. But the next day, I really felt it. Now this week, I already started a more intense Pump workout, so again I'm really feeling it in my back. I can't wait to see even more progress.

Here are some progress pictures.

After participating in a few, now I'm leading some of these groups myself. Maybe you're wondering what the groups are like. Basically, the participants commit to working out at home to a Beachbody program of their choice, drinking Shakeology, and eating healthy everyday. The group is done on Facebook as a closed group, so only the participants can see what is posted. Each day I post a tip, a motivation, or some sort of prompt, and the participants check-in each day. I've seem some great interaction, and everyone gets motivated and helps support each other. And we're starting to see some weight loss, some changed mindsets, and just feeling better overall.

If you think you'd be interested in participating in one of my groups, please complete my challenge group application form.

https://claireee323.wufoo.com/forms/challenge-group-application/