Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Workin on Workin out

Soooo, I've been on a mega workout KICK since the beginning of October...and I'm loving it!

It started when I found a Groupon in June for this place up the street from my work called: "Fitness and Motion" - I took a chance & started the first week of July. I completed the time outlined in the deal, about 4 weeks, and felt amazing.... so I continued through all of August by myself with at-home vids (love me some Jillian) and occasional running here & there. I did pretty well...losing about 5-6lbs over that 2 month period.

Then my trip to visit my sis in AR came & when I got back...I kinda fell off the fitness wagon...and knew I needed to get back into a routine.

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I gained a couple lbs through September, but mostly felt so lazy - my energy had declined since I wasn't doing much physical activity. Then at the end of the month I saw a posting by the owner of F&M, Danny, asking for 20 people to sign up for a weight-loss challenge:  "Lose 20lbs in SIX weeks!!"

I thought, "YESSS, now there's the motivation I need to get back on track!!".....and so I signed up.

And I got HOOKED - full on addiction to my daily workouts.

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I absolutely LOVE the group HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) classes they offer, which I do on M/W/F, and 2 cardio classes: Legs/Glutes (Tues) and Abs (Thurs).  The group of people that attend each day is so amazing...such great energy and a level of accountability too. It's so nice to have a motivating place with a core group & be able to share your struggles, achievements, and sore body parts!!

And the best part:
30 MINUTES!!

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Yep, that's it....30 minutes a day + lunch break = perfection!

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And I lost weight, yay! With a combo of exercising, eating healthy & logging my food through MyFitnessPal (and keeping my calories between 1200-1400/day, depending on level of that day's activity). In all, over the 6 weeks....I didn't lose 20, as I honestly think my body type just won't allow that....but I DID lose a total of 11lbs, and dropped my body fat percentage from 27.9 to 24.1  (and in July, my body fat % was as high as 29.1!!! crazy).

Since that 6-wk challenge, which ended mid-November (I'm sooo behind & writing this in January, but post-dating to Nov!), I've just been focused on maintaining...gaining more muscle - but allowing myself things I really enjoy in life (like wine & dark chocolate nibbles!), but all in moderation. I found that for me, TOO much restriction on myself over the long term would just be mentally exhausting - and frankly, I'd be unhappy & kiiiinda bitchy. No one (especially my husband & daughter) wants that.

EVERYTHING IN MODERATION... you only have one life in this physical state, so best to enjoy it while it lasts right??

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But seriously - it feels so good to just be active on a daily basis. Sometimes I have to force myself to actually take a 'rest' day...and then feel super anxious to get back into it again. Especially since I'm now in my 30's, it's not as easy as in my teens/20's/pre-pregnancy...when I could eat whatever & rarely workout...and look okay.

I feel great...have more confidence and just being strong & having endurance is SUCH a wonderful feeling... I have found that I can now run a full 3 miles in 30 minutes, without stopping to walk!! When I spent 4 months training for the 1/2 marathon last year, I could NEVER run for that long without stopping....it was maybe 10 minutes max, then I'd HAVE to walk. So the overall muscle and stronger core definitely make a huge difference in my ability to KEEP GOING.

I also like to think I'm setting a good example for Kapri too... I want her to grow up watching me, and one day when she starts to 'exercise', she'll actually enjoy it. Because I never did - until now.

Huge THANKS to Danny, Aurélie & Rochelle - the awesome coaches/trainers at Fitness & Motion... it's been so incredible working on my lifestyle transformation with all of you and I owe you many many thanks for all you've done!! Your help and awesome daily workouts have gotten me so far, couldn't have done it without you all!

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Check out my "Motivation" and "Healthy" Pinterest Boards!

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