Week 10

A few days late, but here is my meal plan for this week.  I began my second round of Insanity this Monday.  It feels amazing!  It's a change in my workout, and it is supposed to be the beginning workouts, yet it is still challenging!!!  One of my favorite things about Insanity is not matter how many times you complete it, you can push yourself harder.  With interval training it's about how many you can get in a set amount of time and then rest and repeat.  So if you can only do one power jump or one push up first, as long as you are pushing yourself harder each time, you are getting the best workout for you. Insanity is not just for those that are already physically fit!  It is really for all!!!  They don't offer modifications in the videos, but the review say that is because Shaun T didn't want it to be like all the other workouts.  He wants everyone's goal to be to get to the full workout and at max intensity, but that doesn't mean you can't do your own modifications.  Sometimes when I get completely burnt out, I just plop into plank and hold until they finish the circuit.  

Eating has been going well.  It has become very natural for me, so I'm not as stressed out about being a perfect eater anymore.  I do have to make sure I am always honest with myself though and do not find myself "okaying" too many cheats!  However, I will say that my cheats have become things like a piece of toast with honey, a whole grain waffle with peanut butter, or an iced tea.  I'm not trying to kill myself  to lose this weight.  I'm being realistic so that it becomes a way of life, and is not so drastic that it becomes a diet, and I when I'm done "dieting" I bounce back with splurges and over indulgences.  If you aren't ready to give up something cold turkey then don't give it up all together yet.  Do it over time, so that you don't set yourself up for failure!!!  

Excited to see the progress of Week 10, Week 1 of Insanity Round 2!!!

60 Days!!!

Well, it has been SIXTY days since I made this lifestyle change.  I knew that this change would be more than just a physical change.  It's an emotional change too.  It's funny how the littlest things can throw you off track or become excuses for not giving it your all.  I am very disappointed to say that last week this happened to me.  I was at my all time high at the beginning of the week.  I was feeling better than I had ever felt before.  I even started a new challenge group with my best girl friends back home!  I was ready to finish this final week of Insanity hard.   Then, it just kind of all fell apart.  I needed to step away and find what was making it do that.  The truth is it was me.  I lost focus in my journey.  I let myself get wrapped up in drama that wasn't even mine.  So I decided to step away, finish my Insanity journey strong on my own, and have even found a new Insanity group to start my round 2 as of Monday.

So what does it look like when it all falls apart???  Well I saw bits of old kristen come back.  I was becoming negative, bitter, over-sensitive, paranoid, exhausted, angry, frustrated, disappointed, and I think that about sums it up as just plain POOPY!  I told myself that things will happen in your life that might deter you away from your journey so I needed to learn how to handle it.  I tried for awhile, but I cracked, and just gave up.  I am PROUD to say however, throughout this social tumble to the ground, I did find the strength inside me to do my workout on my own for a week and a half, and today my hard work, devotion and my choice to remove myself and get a fresh start paid off!  That scale is going down again, and those pants zipped!  That's right...they zipped!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Now I am not going to say they are muffin-top free yet, but I started out not even being able to get them up over my hips.

So as day 60 came and gone, I hold my head high and remind myself that I may have completed one challenge, but my challenge will continue, and every day I will become a healthier and happier person.

So there is no 60 day pic, mostly because my partner in crime is not really on the same workout path as me right now.  But I guess that's just an excuse, and I could have my husband take the pics :)  We shall see!  However, I have a hair appointment in about a week that is way over due, and I kind of want to wait and take them then!!!

Week 8

They say week 4 I will start to see changes.  They say week 8, my close friends and family will start to see changes, and they have!  My measurements are changing, my clothes are fitting better, and my weight is dropping too!  I have to say though my biggest accomplishment this week has been physically feeling the difference in my strength during my workouts.  Last night, I even got down on the floor and showed off my new push ups to my husband.  I feel so strong, and I love it!  But of course, I want even more :)  Right now, I'm still behind in the Insanity workouts.  I am dripping in sweat by the end of the video, and my muscles are exerted, but I'm still just not as strong as they are yet.  I'm going to keep at it everyday though.  Each day I tell myself to do just one more of everything!  Eventually I will get there!!!  Just keep on pushing!!!!

Week 7

AWWWW!  Somehow I missed my post this past week :(  and I was doing so well.  I think it was one of those weeks, where I didn't remember if I brushed my teeth, unplugged the straightener, paid the electric, or locked the front door, kind of weeks!  So backing it up.  Week 7 came pretty fast.  I was hoping to hit that weight marker, but I didn't, but I was not discouraged because I was getting closer.  I really do think it's going to be this week!  This week I have started to notice a change in my clothes, and I went on my first run in two months, and I cannot believe how strong my legs felt, which made the run a lot easier on my knees!  One of our challenges this week was to take a picture of our OLD clothes.  Well of course, the goal is to show off how baggy they have gotten.  Blonde moment here...I just started drying all my clothes to shrink them a little so they weren't so baggy, but I still managed to find this comparison photo:

The first picture was taking at the zoo after my first week of clean eating.  My family was still in town visiting so my workouts weren't really happening, but I had been working on my diet.  Just looking at Week 1 pic, I notice how much happier I am.  I am enjoying myself with my daughter, and not completely freaking about the camera getting my "skinny" angle.  Now look at week 7!  Look at the confidence I have gained!!! I am no where near my goal weight or dream body yet, but being able to see the difference makes all this worth it!  One more week, and then I'm going to be ready to start spreading the word.  Just waiting on people to start saying "you look great", and asking "how did you do it", so I can start saying "well let me tell you how"!  This is what keeps me going is knowing that my lifestyle change just might impact the ones I love too!  

Week 6

This week is a VERY important week to me.  I've started mastering my workout videos, I am eating better than I ever have, I have given up soda completely!!!, and so now I'm at that plateau.  So this week my big goal is to GO HARD!  I'm going to eat even BETTER, workout even HARDER, and give it everything I got!  Another big task I am going to work on this week is getting my butt to bed, and getting my well-rested butt out of bed before lunch time!  Ok, so it's not really lunch time, but I kid you not...sometimes I don't get out of my pj's til Haylie goes down for her nap at noon and I throw on my workout clothes!  EEEK!!!!  that's got "turning into a lazy bum" written all over it!  Plus, next year when we move, I want to go back to teaching, and I'm pretty sure they require you to show up to work before noon and not in your pajamas!   So to sum it all up, this is my 110% week.  I want to combine everything I have accomplished so far plus a few new challenges and I want to knock this week out of the ballpark!  My motivation for this week is the scale is so close to breaking that WEIGHT WALL that I have not been below since I was pregnant with my daughter (almost two years ago!).  It also Valentine's day this week, so I know there are going to be a few extra temptations this week, but guess what..I'm going to have my dessert as my cheat and just work extra hard in the gym (aka...my family room with Insanity in the DVD player!)  If I stick to this meal plan and do another straight week of cardio I KNOW I CAN make this the best week yet!  

30 days in...60 more to go!

I of course have been very anxious leading up to our 30 day photos and measurements.  I've been doing the ultimate fitness sin of measuring myself every day and getting on that scale!  NO NO NO!  I know better than that, but I just couldn't be patient.  I have to say, I'm one of those girls that will probably never be completely satisfied with her body.  Stupid world that has created this image that unrealistic body types is what we want.  But then again, that's why this challenge has been more than just about weight loss. It's about a lifestyle change.  It's about learning to love your body because you take care of it.  I will stand by this comment so far...if I never lost another pound I would still be a happier, healthier person thanks to this lifestyle.  However, I am HUMAN...so YES!!!! I want to lose weight too :)  I am happy with my 30 day photos (minus the need for a tan...yes... I do live in Hawaii, so not quite sure what my excuse is!).   I am excited for the next 30 days.  I feel like I needed to visually see the changes before I could push forward anymore.  I was starting to feel like I wasn't getting anywhere and all my hard work was for nothing, but check out my 30 day transformation in my scrapbook...and see for yourself!  

So if you feel exhausted, and think I don't have the time or the energy for working out...guess what?!?!?!  When you eat "CLEAN" you have so much more energy, and you miraculously find extra time in your day to do things that you would have put off before because you were too tired.  I do more loads of laundry, I watch less t.v., I play more with my kid, and overall I'm just being more active.  I think there is a definite correlation between be active and feeling good.  I wonder if that is where the saying, "Life is like a fresh breath of air," comes from. 

If you are unsure if this lifestyle is for you, just remember everyone can do it at their own pace.  Some of the girls in the group are much more hardcore than me, but this is such a change for me that I'm taking it in strides.  Strive for PROGRESS...not PERFECTION.  Even if you eat a little bit better every day, or work out a couple times a week, it's better than doing nothing at all.  And who knows...maybe you'll get addicted like me and want to do more good things for your body!  

Week 5

30 day pics are this week!  I cannot believe we are already at this point.  I have to say I have been kind of bummed this weekend as it approaches.  I feel like I should be seeing more results by now.  This is usually the time I give up because it doesn't happen over night.  So I am trying to reach within and find that extra push that keeps me going even if I don't see results yet.

So in an effort to catch a second wind and keep on trucking, I've decided to hit it hard this week!  I want to throw my body back into a drastic change so that it has no choice but to make me feel like I'm getting some where!

With that being said...this week is a pure cardio workout week!  I'm going to do INSANITY all week long, and tie in my Yoga Booty Ballet and Core workout on Saturday.  I'm also going to really focus on cutting out carbs this week.  I think I got very comfortable with allowing whole grain carbs and got a little carried away this week!  As always.....I'm going to up my water intake more and more!