On May 12th I decided that I was done being sick and tired. For weeks I felt like I needed to nap during the day. I had no energy to get out of the house with the kids. My patience was minimal. When Olivia (age 4) asked to be carried I could only do it for a short amount of time. I was feeling majorly blah! In the past years I've tried the Jillian Michael's shred and was bored. I did kickboxing that I loved and it was a great workout but wasn't something I could financially afford to keep up with and getting that time out of the house at night was very hard to schedule in. In steps my sister in law Nadine. She had been posting on her Facebook about a program she was trying and how great she was feeling. She joined a 21 day challenge to get on track and had lost 15 lbs, 10 inches, and had her energy levels up. I decided on the next round I was going to join her with a little extra push from her that I needed. I decided I was going to do the program she was doing through Beachbody. It's a 21 day challenge, eating clean with portion control, working out for a half hour a day, and drinking a protein shake called Shakeology. I am on day 14 now and my entire day to day outlook on my life has changed. I was never overly concerned with my weight, but I was never fully happy with my body either. I didn't feel powerful. In the first two weeks of the program it wasn't hard for me to cut out the crap I usually eat. I was at the point where I knew I needed to change. At 31 I should not be eating like I'm a teenager with a limited menu of what I like to eat. I have had such a hard time recently picking out things to make for dinner. I was sick of everything! Now I have a game plan! I'm excited to go to the store. Try new healthier foods. My body immediately responded to the changes in my diet. While I still look in the mirror and wonder am I making progress? I only have a week of the challenge left. Have I lost any weight? For me the true test was this weekend when I didn't bring Olivia's stroller to a short zoo trip we took on Saturday and she was tired of walking. I actually carried her for an extended period of time and still felt great. When I'm pushing through a workout that's what I think of, being a better mom to my kids. If I'm feeling better, they will feel better. The other thing I like about this program is that it's not a yo-yo diet, it's not do this, lose weight, and go back to your old habits. It's taking a look at your health and fitness and showing you the proper way you should be doing it. It's a community with all different people from all different walks of life coming together and supporting each other, motivating each other (via the beach body website or through Facebook accountability groups). I ordered my kit (21 day fix-extreme) which includes guide book with recipes, portion containers, workout dvds, a month supply of chocolate shakeology and a shakeology cup. For real, were on a budget, I'm not going to spend money frivolously, that was also a motivator for me in the first week. I DO NOT waste money. And in the past two weeks my grocery bill has been reduced. (insert thumbs up emoji)
Here are my before pictures which I cannot believe I am posting on the internet! But I'm trying to keep it real and also keep myself motivated. I will post again at the end of my 21 day challenge on the 31st.
I decided to sign on as a coach because I believe in the concepts of the program and how much it helps people that are just like me. So I'm going to share some links to my coach website if your interested in seeing what some of the programs look like. I decided on doing the extreme challenge pack but that might not be for everyone. There is a also one titled 21 day fix.
