Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Transformation Tuesday

So, last Friday I finished the entire Focus T25 workout and I feel better and more fit than I have since high school. I'm not sure why it's taken me until hitting 30 to realize the importance of being healthy, meaning controlled diet and exercise. I don't "diet" per se, but I try to make healthy meals for my family and only splurge occasionally on fast food and desserts. Not splurging on dessert <daily> is a much more recent development. 

When I was pregnant with Brooklyn, I had gestational diabetes and it sucked, however, it did keep my weight gain to a minimum. After she arrived and my glucose levels went back to normal, I went on a serious sugar binge. Not kidding. Ask my mom, sisters and husband, because they watched it happen. This was totally unhealthy and not at all god for losing baby weight. In fact, I actually gained weight after she was born, to the tune of close to 10 pounds. I was dumb. 

A couple days after she was born, I was fitting into my normal jeans. A couple weeks after she was born, I couldn't anymore. When she was about 3 months old, I started T25 and started to see my body transform. I didn't change my diet, however. I was dumb.

After completing all 3 parts of the program (Alpha, Beta and Gamma), Damien and I decided to finish off the series with a hybrid month, consisting of mostly of Gamma with bit of Beta and Alpha tossed in.  This is when I got smart and also decided to watch the sweets intake and control my snacking. I saw a huge transformation in the last month!

I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted and still be a size 2, but as I'm getting older, I'm realizing more and more the importance of healthy and controlled eating.

Here are some things that I have done to help with this.
  • Get a buddy. Mine is my husband, but it doesn't have to be a spouse. It can be anyone who has similar fitness and health goals as you and that will hold you accountable. He keeps me motivated to work out and eats healthy right along with me (he has much better will-power than I do when it comes to sweets too!)
  • Keep junk out of the house. If it's not there, you won't eat it!
  • Drink water! You'll be amazed at how much cutting out soda (even diet!), juices and tea will do for your health.
  • Keep track of calories and portion sizes.
That last one has been great for Damien and I. Even when splurging on a not-so-healthy snack, if you control your portion size, based on the package serving size, you will not over-eat. I mentioned this last week and because I love it so much, I'm going to mention it again. Damien and I both have the My Fitness Pal app on our phones. We scan ingredients used in meals, snacks, drinks, etc. and track our caloric intake. It has shown us multiple times how much we used to consume.

I'm in the process of trying to figure out what device I'd like to purchase to count my calories burned and track my heart rate. When I workout and run, I base it on an average for the particular workout or distance ran. Although I get that those devices are also an estimated calories burned, I'm sure it'll be more accurate than bllindly guessing. My Fitness Pal takes your daily calorie goal, subtracts the food you consume (don't forget to enter it!) and adds back in the calories from your workout. Anyway, I think I want this one...

Finally, I am going to share my before and after pictures from Focus T25. I cannot believe I'm actually outting these out into the universe, but I am truly proud of finishing that workout and I'm very excited about my results. If you are starting a workout routine, definitely take before and after shots to track your progress. You'll be glad you did.

Down 7 pounds and 12 total inches!!

*I'd recommend taking the photos in the same spot or at least against a bare wall both times, so you have a better visual of your results. And get someone else to take the photos for you. Despite the fact you can't see my entire body in the before, you can still see a huge difference in my belly! Post-P90X3 will be an even bigger difference! (started that yesterday, by the way, and it's a great workout!)

As always, comments (especially if you own a calorie tracker/heart rate monitor that you love) are appreciated! And make sure you are following my blog! And on Instagram too!




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