Days 19-20 of the 21 Day Fix and Birthday Fun

Yesterday was my birthday and I spent the day with my little family.  We started the day at our weekly Friday morning playdate.  My husband worked from home so that he could spend the day with us.  After our playdate, we went out to lunch.  Keeping in mind that I am nearing the end of the 21 Day Fix, and wanting the best results I can get, I did the best I could to eat on plan during out outing.  I ended up getting a grilled chicken sandwich with a side salad.  I still had both my carb servings still available, so I ate the sandwich with the bun intact.  A great way to lessen the carb load when you go out to eat is to eat your sandwich or burger open-faced.  Try it sometime, I bet you won't even miss the other half of your bun. For my side-salad, I ordered the dressing on the side.  Always do this.  Restaurants are notorious for over-dressing salads.  I reduce the amount of dressing I use even further by dipping my fork into the dressing before picking up salad rather than pouring dressing over the top of the salad.  Here was my yummy birthday lunch, look at how much dressing they gave me for that little salad!

Eating out can be healthy too! Dressing on the side and an open-faced grilled chicken sandwich

I hit a huge milestone on my birthday.  I can finally get into my pre-preggo jeans!  Now, I've been able to get them on and buttoned for awhile, but yesterday marked the first day in longer than I'd like to admit that I could feel comfortable going out in public while wearing them.  

Woo hoo!  Back into my size 10 pre-preggo jeans! Next goal: get into those 6's and 8's hanging in the closet.

I was one of the unfortunate women who could not lose weight while breast-feeding, so I was stuck for the first 12 months after the birth of my daughter.  I would not trade anything for those 12 months of bonding with my child, but as soon as she was weaned, I got straight to work trying to lose the last bit of baby weight.  At the time, I was teaching Zumba classes and getting back into running.  I taught 4 classes a week and ran 3 days a week, but was hardly making any progress.  After 2 months of this, I felt like I needed to regroup and make a new plan.  My husband's work schedule was changing, so I was not going to be able to keep teaching Zumba in the evenings.  I knew I needed to replace my Zumba workouts with something, so I turned once again to Beachbody.  (I used Beachbody programs to lost weight before I got pregnant).  I had already done 2 rounds of ChaLean Extreme in the past, and although I love the program,  I wanted something new, so I stuck with my girl Chalene Johnson, and purchased PiYo.  PiYo was such a great program.  I just finished up my first round this past Monday, and I was super happy with my results.  My body, which had held on to all my extra fluff for the year I was breastfeeding and then hardly responded to my workouts for 2 months, finally began to change in the ways I wanted.  To help with my meal planning, I started 21 Day Fix almost 3 weeks ago.  This program really kicked my weight loss into high gear.  I can't wait to see my final results on Monday!

I truly believe in Beachbody and their products, so much so, that I became a coach last month to help others achieve their health and fitness goals the same way I have, using the Beachbody programs and products.  I love what I do.  I'm getting paid to workout and help others reach their goals all while being able to stay at home full time with my daughter.  Does this sound like your dream job?  I'd love to share what it is that I do with you.  My team is hosting a sneak peek into Beachbody Coaching next month. It's the perfect opportunity to see what coaching is all about.  Message me or email me with your interest and contact info and I will add you to our group!

  

Days 16-18 of 21 Day Fix and PiYo Results

I normally try to blog every other day, but I missed last night. My apologies!  I blog in the evenings after my little one goes to bed, but last night I was invited to go to an evening fitness class and didn't get back home until late.  The class I attended was something called Gravity Fit Fusion.  Gravity Fit is a high intensity trampoline fitness class.  The Fusion class is a combination of Gravity Fit and Dance Fitness.  It was a blast! It was also a killer calorie burner.  I was dripping in sweat at the end of the class.  If you have a trampoline park anywhere near you, check out their fitness classes.  It was a nice change of pace and so much fun!  

21 Day Fix Progress

I've been struggling to get in all my fruit servings the past couple days.  Given my calorie bracket on the 21 Day Fix, I'm supposed to eat 3 fruit servings a day.  I always get 2 servings in, but I'm really inconsistent when it comes to that third serving.  I only like a few fruits: apples, grapes, bananas, and cantaloupe.  I used to eat watermelon as well, but I found it is way too sugary for me and I don't see as good of results when I eat it.  I may need to start drinking smoothies again in order to get enough fruit in my day.  I've been on Pinterest pinning all sorts of Shakeology recipes to try. Take a look! Yum!

I've been trying to get in double workouts of 21 Day Fix now that I have completed PiYo.  My plan was going great until yesterday, when my daughter decided to start waking up an hour earlier.  She did the same thing today too.  Looks like I'm going to have to get up even earlier if I'm going to get in doubles. Sigh.  

Only 3 days left of my first round of 21 Day Fix, and I am going to do the 3-day quick fix eating plan to finish out the program.  This is a much stricter meal plan than the normal meal plan, where you increase your protein servings and decrease your carb servings. Also, no fruit, no cheese, and no dressings, seeds, or nuts.  We shall see how it goes.

PiYo Results

Alright the results are in!  During my first round of PiYo I lost: 9.6 pounds and a total of 12 inches.  Looking back, I could kick myself for not following the meal plan for the first 6 out of 8 weeks.  I wasn't eating total junk.  I love veggies and lean protein, but I was a bit heavy handed on the carbs and dairy.  I very pleased to have gotten the results I did, but I also know I could have done even better if I had been more disciplined in the kitchen. I am sharing my before and after pictures, knowing that I still have a long way to go to get back to my pre-preggo self, but I cannot expect you to trust me and put yourself out there if I am not willing to the same.  We all start somewhere on this fitness journey and it's okay to be a work in progress! Every pound and every inch gets you one step closer to your goals and should be celebrated!

I loved, loved, LOVED this program.  PiYo takes the principles and exercises of Pilates and Yoga and combines them into a fast flow workout.  The workouts combine strength and stretch exercises to tone, tighten, and increase flexibility.  One of the most unique aspects of this program is that with the exception of burpee sets, the program is entirely low impact. Don't let the low impact fool you though, I can promise your heart will be pumping and you will be dripping with sweat after each workout.  

Does this sound like the program for you?  Message me for more information! PiYo happens to be part of the November Beachbody Promotions.  Let me hook you up!

Days 14-15 of the 21 Day Fix and Week 2 Results

Enjoyed a lazy weekend this past weekend.  Our agility training class was moved to a later time for the winter, so we can now sleep in both days of the weekend.  I'm kind of torn about this.  I get into a routine during the week where I get up early and workout before my daughter wakes up, and I know it would be easier to keep that routine if I didn't sleep in on the weekends, but I'm a girl who really enjoys her sleep.  My husband does too, and he is who makes sure I get up in the mornings on the weekdays. You could call him my accountabili-buddy when it comes to dragging my butt out of bed.  On weekends though, he likes to sleep in even later than I ever would, which makes it really hard to get myself up early enough to get a workout in. I know that consistency is key, and its just a matter of finding the motivation to get myself up, no excuses. 

My eating plan was on point all weekend.  We didn't eat out for the first weekend in I can't even remember how long.  I only got one workout in on Sunday, PiYo Sculpt.  Today, I did get both workouts in, PiYo Drench and 21 Day Fix Cardio Fix.  I am officially done with this round of PiYo!  I will share a review of this program as well as my results from the 8 weeks in my next blog post.  It feels great to see myself through a program from start to finish.  Now my focus is just on 21 Day fix. I will have to do some double days to get caught up on my 21 Day Fix workouts, but I should be able to do that no problem now that I do not have to split my focus on two different programs. 

Yesterday marked the end of week 2 on the 21 Day Fix.  Today I weighed in and took measurements.  I am happy to report that I am another 2.8 pounds down and I have lost an additional 3 inches, bring my 2 week total to 5.6 pounds and 8 inches.  One more week to go!

On Mondays, we have out weekly Bombshell Dynasty Team Call with my fellow Beachbody coaches.  Today the topic was how not to lead with your emotions.  It was a great call, and I left it inspired to put even more of myself into helping others through my coaching business. Beachbody is such a great company to work for, and my team has some of the most successful, supportive, helpful, and kind coaches in the business.  It is from this call that I got the Motivation Monday gem I'm going to share today. Here it is:

How would you approach your life differently if there was no chance of failure?

  

21 Day Fix Days11-13 & Recipe: Fried Rice

The last three days on the plan have gone smoothly.  I'm feeling good, plenty of energy, and I'm getting stronger.  I'm able to do more reps or heavier weights in all of the exercises in the workouts.  I've gotta say, I'm becoming a huge fan of this program!  Interestingly enough, according to the scale, I haven't lost any additional weight this week so far.  I'm pretty sure my measurements have gone down, because I'm feeling thinner and my clothes are fitting looser.  I will be remeasure on Sunday when I do my weekly check-in.  Fingers crossed I see the changes I'm feeling.  I'm not really surprised that my weight has not gone down this week.  I'm back to a weight that I have held for long periods of time in my life and it's not uncommon for our bodies to plateau at weights we have held for a significant period of time.  Our bodies are great at adapting to changing conditions and have a long memory.  As our bodies lose weight and we hit numbers we used to weigh in the past, our bodies say "hey I remember this body composition, I think I'll hang out here for awhile".  At times like this you have two options. Either, you stay the course and outlast your body (this works for some, but not others) or you can shake things up to try to confuse your body (this works for most, but the change in routine can be difficult or stressful).  This time, I'm going to stay the course.  I really think that I can push through this little plateau with the 21 Day Fix.  The plan has different workouts for each day, and I can change up my foods and still stay within the eating plan.  9 more days!

Found on Pinterest, by SparkPeople

I'm still behind on my workouts.  I completed Lower Fix and PiYo Buns on Thursday.  Friday being Halloween, I only had time for one workout so I did PiYo Sweat.  Today was PiYo Core and Pilates Fix.  I am happy to report that I made it through Halloween without eating any candy.  I did save a fun size Milky Way for once I complete my first round of 21 Day Fix. Gotta say I'm pretty proud of my will-power yesterday.  I can remember a time where I could have demolished all of the left over candy in a night or two. This year, I didn't feel at all tempted. It's the little victories that add up to our successes.

I'm not going to continue including my meal plans for each day.  I do have them written down, and if anyone would like to see them as an example comment or message me and I will be happy to provide them!

Recipe: Fried Rice

Ingredients:

• 1 Lean Pork Tenderloin (cubed)
• 1 cup dry Brown Rice (cook before you begin, so this would be about 3 cups cooked)
• 1 Package of Frozen Stir-Fry Vegetables, not pre-seasoned (pre-seasoned contains added salt)
• 1 can bamboo shoots
• 1 can water chestnuts
• 2/3 cup frozen peas
• 2-3 eggs (depending on how eggy you like your rice)
• 4 tsp Toasted Sesame Oil
• 2 tbsp Low-Sodium Soy Sauce (optional)
• Spices to taste: ground ginger, cumin, sriracha, garlic powder, black pepper 

Directions:

1. Put all veggies (frozen, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts) in a wok or large skillet and add 2 tsp of sesame oil.  Saute on high until veggies are fully cooked and lightly browned. Stir in ground ginger, cumin, garlic powder, and black pepper to taste.
2. Set vegetables aside, cover with foil to keep warm
3. Put cubed pork loin and 1tbsp sriracha in wok or skillet and cook until golden brown.
4. Add pork to the veggies you already put aside and mix, recover to keep warm.
5. Put rice in wok with 2 tsp sesame oil and fry 3-4 minutes on medium high, stirring constantly.
6. Make a well in the center of the rice.  Add eggs to the well and scramble. 
7. Once egg is cooked, continue to fry rice and eggs for 3 minutes. Add veggies and pork. Stir all ingredients to mix and reheat.
8. Serve and enjoy! Makes 4 servings.