60 day ab results

Here are my 60 day ab results from doing p90x. I can really feel it now! Day 30 I could see the fat melting away but now I am really starting to love my stomach and there hasn't been a "drastic" weight loss. I can't wait to see what day 90 will look like!

30 days of abs

Yesterday I started my way to 30 days of abs. I plan on working on my abs 15 minutes each night. I will incorporate p90x's ab ripper x, insanity's insane abs, and a few other things of my own. 

I plan to update daily with which workouts I will be doing. I hope some of you can join me! I will also do a before and after shot of my "abs". 

Yesterday was Day 1 and here is the workout 

1) In and Outs: 25 reps

2) Bicycles: in seated position 25 reps forward and backward for a total of 50

3) Crunchy Frog: 25 reps

4) Cross Leg/ Wide Leg Sit-Ups: 25 reps

5) Fifer Scissors: 25 reps

6) Hip Rock And Raise: 25 reps

7) Pulse Ups: 25 reps

8) V-Up/Roll Up: 25 reps

9) Oblique V-Ups: right side 25 reps & left side 25 reps

10) Leg Climbs: 25 reps

11) Mason Twist: 40 reps

vacation

Vacation can be such a bad time for those of us looking to lose weight and stay fit. I was on vacation for two whole weeks. I did fairly well the first week, actually, so much so that I lost one lb. Then came week two- I ate so many sweets over a three day period that I actually made myself sick. Like, sit on the toilet and run as fast I can to the toilet sick. It was horrible but I'm so glad I got that junk out of my system. I failed myself but I'm just brushing it off. It happens and I'm glad it was only three days and not two weeks.

I was able to continue to exercise which helped so much. I stayed with family and they are extremely supportive. I took my resistance band and my sil had the p90x set of DVDs which made my life so much easier. I was able to work hard and not skip out. If I didn't have the set I probably would have gone for a run everyday- which sounds nice right about now since I'm back home and stuck in this snowstorm.

Sometime next week when I feel that the bloat has gone down I will do an official weigh in and pics for month two. I'm a little disappointed because I feel like this month has been significantly slower and I didn't work as hard but there's nothing I can do now. I'm also planning on a 30 day ab plan- to demolish my fatty squish!

meals and snack ideas

I don't make elaborate meal plans for an entire week. I just can't, my life is not in that much control. I do typically like to stay within a routine though.

I have egg whites (3) for breakfast- hard boiled & coffee with a small fruit or a Chobani Greek yogurt. 
My lunch is typically packed with protein. I either have boiled fish or chicken with my protein shake. 

For snacks I have fibers bars, pistachios, almonds, or fruit and veggies. 

It's hard to plan an entire day's worth of meals for me, and even harder an entire week. I try to keep healthy snacks and food around the house that will benefit me the moment hunger strikes. 

Here is a list of healthy snacks that I like to keep handy:

1.  String Cheese
2. Banana
3. Greek Yogurt
4. Apple dipped in Peanut Butter 
5. 100-calorie bag of popcorn
6. veggies with hummus 
7. Almonds
8.  Apple
9. Hard Boiled Egg
10. Dried Fruits
11. Pistachios
12.  Clementines
13. Fruit Smoothie
14. blueberries 
15. celery with peanut butter 
16. Trail Mix 
17. Orange Slices
18. Salad with light dressing
19. Guacamole with veggies or tortilla chips
20. Cashews
21. Sugar Snap Peas( i love how crunchy these are!)
22. Steamed Veggies
23. Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges
24. Snack/Granola bar/Fiber Bar
25. Protein Bar
26. Sweet Potato Fries 
27. Wrap (like hummus, turkey, & avocado)
28. Broccoli (I HAVE to have cheese with mine)
29. Peaches 
30. Naked Juice (but only one serving!)
31. Tuna with corn and light mayo and a handful of crackers
32. Chicken Breast
33. Watermelon
34. Oatmeal

more progress

This is a dirty mirror pic. Literally. No, it's not my dirty mirror. Yes, I do take pictures like this at other peoples houses LOL!

I have no idea how many inches I've lost but I can tell it's quite a few. My love handles are slowly but surely disappearing. I just need to tackle my lower belly now.

instructor

New fitness goals mean new opportunities! This week and next week I will begin my journey into becoming some what of a fitness instructor. I will be certified in CPR, I will shadow a boot camp class, I will shadow several weight training floor classes, and spin classes. My ultimate goal is to become a certified spin instructor but along with it I am also becoming a senior (silver sneakers YMCA) cardio and weight training instructor! These are fairly big deals! I never thought I'd be the type to actually go through with something like this. I just need the confidence to actually do it. I know I can lead and be successful in this realm, considering how far I've pushed myself, now I hope to help other get there as well.

brag post!

This here is a brag post. Finally. A good post. These are my guns. Okay, not really. This is the first time I ever have some kind of definition in my arms. I usually have big flabby butter arms. I can see definition now!!!! P90x is awesome. I will have nice arms for this summer. No more hiding in cardigans and long sleeves!

fat face

When I get fat, so does my face. If I gain ten pounds five will go to my arms and belly and the other five will go directly to my face. Seriously. I get big puffy cheeks when I gain weight and I hate it. This is one of the reasons I like to maintain a healthy diet, and stay thin, so that my face doesn't look like I've eaten two cheeseburgers.

Between these two pictures there is a 7 pound difference. SEVEN POUND! WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE ALL 7 ARE IN MY FACE??!?!

I know the picture isn't the greatest comparison but I'm sure you can tell. I was 148.8 on the left (or more) and 141.2 on the right. You can see my eyes look bigger and my cheeks look smaller. It's ridiculous but I wanted to share my almost number 1 reason for staying thin!

month two

Since starting month two this Monday things have been interesting. 
Here are the boring parts:

Day 1 which was Chest, Shoulders & Triceps, was hard. Just like it was hard in month one. I felt defeated and frustrated. I felt like I wasn't doing the moves right and I couldn't do them all the way anyway. The next day I was sore, so sore, and that my friends is a good thing. I was working hard and sweating through it and I felt it. 

Month two is so different, I haven't even completed one week and I'm hooked. I feel like this is such a great program because I don't feel entirely exhausted and defeated at the end. I'm learning so much about my body and seeing immense toning in areas I'd never seen before. My arms are starting to look so much better. I usually had big, fat, flabby arms and now I can actually see muscle and it's so motivating! 

My eating habits have stayed on board. I am not following the eating plan exactly but I still maintain a very healthy diet, one which I plan on sharing with you more frequently! 

progress

The day I posted my progress pictures I knew it may have been a bad idea. I was (TMI WARNING) a bit bloated because it was that time of the month. I am the type of woman that really does bloat during this time. I hold on to my water weight and it's just bad all over. I knew stepping on that scale may have been discouraging but surprisingly it wasn't. The kicker comes in when I got back on a day later, no longer bloated and TWO POUNDS LIGHTER. The official weight loss has gone from 148.6 to 141.2 It's pretty fabulous for a little over 30 days.

I need better pictures, but I'm struggling with how to post them without being immodest and completely exposing myself. I'm sure I will come up with something.

I'm also going to commit to posting pictures, recipes, or ideas of my lunches and dinners. I am a strong believer in weight loss being 30% gym and 70% diet. It really does matter what you eat. You can spend two hours everyday at the gym but if you go home and eat crap, well there goes your workout!

side by side

Here are a few side by side comparsion pictures. The flash and position of the shirt don't exactly help but here's a 5 lb weight-loss.

30 day results

Ah! 30 days later into p90x and... HERE ARE THE RESULTS!

I weighed in at 148.8 lbs

and now... DUN DUN DUN!!!!

I weight 143.8 lbs! 

I am officially down 5 whole pounds!

 I didn't think it would be such a big deal but it is! 

I feel that in the pictures I can't see much of a difference but I sure can tell in my face, which obviously isn't pictured here LOL. I can definetly tell in my arms when I flex but I failed at flexing in pictures. It isn't a huge AMAZING difference but I feel like I've lost quite a few inches over all. I feel that I can see it in my side picture and under my arms when I have them up in the pictures. I can tell that I'm toning a lot as well. This has been a good journey and I can't wait to see what month two has in store for me. If you pay close attention to detail you can see that overall I'm shrinking a little, losing inches over all :) 

update

Week 1 was a bit hard. It was all new moves, new videos, new eating habits. I felt like I worked half as hard as I should have because I was so busy trying to learn the new moves and actually do them correctly. After three days I decided this would be my "practice week", not a quit week or start over, but a practice. I did try to focus on proper movement and quality over quantity. It was great, and it encouraged me for the next week. I technically restarted but for a good cause. The restart was a lot better, went over faster and easier and I felt a lot more tired because I was doing the movements correctly. After 1 1/2 weeks, I can already see a BIG difference in my stomach. I really want to take pictures but I know I shouldn't, not until the 30 days are over! I think what is helping a lot is the consistent 15 minute ab video 3x's a week. It's really short but really hard. I never really worked on my stomach but it honestly is the area that needs the most work, along with my arms. I'm hoping to lose ALL of my back fat.

I know I've lost about 2 lbs but I'm a bit bloated because, TMI WARNING, it's that time of the month. Also, I've been sick for 2-3 days and feel a little weak. I've managed to still do my videos but my eating has slowed down so much, I'm hoping this doesn't stall me or set me back. I know that under-eating really can affect you because if you aren't eating enough then your body will hold on to your fat ;) What has helped a ton is drinking my shakes. I have 1 cup of 2% milk, 1 medium banana, and 1 scoop of Chocolate flavored "Designer Whey Protein". It's so much easier to gulp that down when you're sick instead of egg whites. Gross!

Okay, off to my 2nd day of my 2nd week!

exposed- the not so fab

I can't believe I'm doing this! I feel like these pictures are horrible but, it is what it is.
This is Day 1 of p90x.

The stats:

• 5'6''
• 145.8
• size 6 

These pants and this shirt are so tight it's overwhelmingly unflattering. I cringe when I see these pictures but it's the most accurate way I thought of getting a good before picture. As you will see, my arms, belly, shoulders, and back, need the most work. 

Day 1 p90x

Today I completed day 1 of p90x: Chest and Back. My initial reaction was: Wow this sure is different from Insanity. I wasn't sweating as much, my heart wasn't racing, and I didn't feel like I Was going to die :) I liked it, but then I didn't because I feel like if I don't want to quit then I'm not working hard enough. I wanted to stop the video because I was discouraged that I couldn't do most of the workouts. I'm very weak with my upper body, I can't even do a single proper push up. I just try my hardest and keep going. Everything was push ups, pull ups, and some weight exercises. I kept thinking to myself, "You're not doing this right, you're just wasting your time". I wanted to quit, but I didn't. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm a beginner. I won't do it 100% like they do, maybe I'm at 10% but in a few weeks I'll be at 25% and that is better than 10... right?

The biggest problem areas that I have with my body, are my upper body and my midsection. I have a good amount of flab on my belly, chubby arms, and back fat! I hope to have that disappear by the end of this journey.

Also, I'm really far behind on my eating for today! I've only had breakfast: the omelet and it was great. Right now I'm munching on the "soy nuts"- I bought them at Target and they're salted and roasted. A little weird but okay to eat.

p90x

I've started my new journey! Instead of doing Cross Fit I decided to go with p90x. Why? Because I'm cheap :) and it's cold in Chicago. I don't want to leave the house 2-3 times a day, I can do p90x in the comfort of my own home.

Let's start with the basics:
I am going to try really hard to follow the meal plan. I think it won't always workout for me but I will try and replace their meals with some healthy meals of my own. I went shopping this weekend for month 1, I missed maybe 10 items that I need to get back to. I spent $77, it seems steep but I had to buy things like wine, and oil. Those are the items that really jacked that bill up. I'd honestly never bought so many green things at once.

This morning I made the mushroom scramble ( i believe that's the name), and it was fast, easy, and delicious. I'm skipping their lunch and having my own protein shake.

This will take a lot of preparation, following the meal plan, but I think it will be worth it. MY biggest downfall when I workout is my eating habits. I do okay most of the week and then fail by the weekend. If a holiday comes up, I just eat junk all week. That's why my results are so slow and sometimes I even gain weight :( I'm hoping that with p90x this isn't the case! Wish me luck. I hope to have the patience to prepare all these meals, find good replacements for the times I can't cook, and be able to resist the temptation of fatty fast food around me everyday!

New Beginnings

I haven't always enjoyed fitness or eating healthy, but now it's a huge part of my life. I've lost weight in a healthy manner and have managed to keep it off for two years, with a pregnancy in between. This journey has been a complete lifestyle change and it hasn't been easy, but I love it. I've gone from a very loose size 13 to a loose size 5. It's made a big difference in everyday life.

I told myself I wanted to lose weight because finding what to wear everyday was such a struggle and it almost always ruined my day. I know this may seem vain but it was just so hard to be comfortable in my own skin. All I wanted was to wake up and not have to worry about how tight my pants were, whether my shirt needed to be very loose to offset my tight pants, or If I had a clean extra large sweater to hide under. I wanted to wake up and throw on whatever I wanted and just feel comfortable.

To be honest, I felt pretty as a size 13 but I wasn't comfortable. I felt like I needed to wear more makeup, have prettier hair, or nicer clothes to feel beautiful. I felt like I was "pretty" but getting ready for the day was still hard. I didn't like being 20 and 182 lbs, I just kept thinking to myself, how much more weight am I going to gain by the time I'm 21? I wasn't always a size 13, I was more like a 9 (or 10) all through high-school. I started gaining weight when I married my husband. I was in love and life was just pure bliss! We constantly ate out and snacked through the night, which made me start packing on the pounds. In just six short months I gained 20 pounds!!! I needed to change my eating habits AND start working out. Before then, I never worked out, I was very lazy. I was too intimidated to go to the gym, so I started working out in our leasing office "gym". They had one elliptical and one treadmill, I started off slow with 15-20 minutes on the elliptical. After a few months I'd do two hours on just those two machines, after losing some weight I joined a gym and never looked back! I had a very strict diet and it helped so much, but this is where my next journey begins. I've done insanity twice over and I'm getting ready to change my diet again and give crossfit a try. I hope to share my progress with you and encourage at least one person in a positive way.