Results are IN!

First of all, I must admit keeping up with a blog proved to be harder than I thought. Work and life has been crazy busy and for some reason logging on to Google from my iPad seems clunky. Since I am on my lap top alllll day at work finding the motivation to break it out at night was tough.

The 12 weeks are technically up. I am UBER proud of my girl Ellie May who joined me on this challenge. She won't let me get my hands on her before / after pics, but she lost 10" and 12 lbs. Her pictures look incredible. And I have to say... THANK GOD for pictures. The plan asks you to track three things; your weight, your measurements, and take weekly pictures. If I had not done those three things I would have been very disappointed just going by the scale.

For who ever is out there reading this and finds this information helpful... here goes. As for me during the 12 weeks the scale would fluctuate 6 - 8 pounds. I would be down 4 then up 2 and down 5 then up 3. I think I ended the 12 weeks pretty close to my starting weight.. in all honesty. However, the changes that I can see in pictures and the fact that my work pants fall off of me tell me that I made definite progress. But, I will say that I am disappointed in myself because I could have done better. Most of what I know I need to do was hard to sometimes get done on a consistent basis certain weeks. The gym wasn't a problem. I always made it to the gym but I think I could have done more with my workouts when it came to weights and balance that with the cardio. I logged a TON of hours on the Stair Master and I really think that sticking more to the weight workouts is a key to success. Second, meal preps were hard. I did make good choices when I didn't bring my food to work, but again I could have done better. Also, I embarked on this right in the beginning of the holidays so cocktails were not totally eliminated. I will say that having a major awareness of every little thing I was eating and drinking kept me very disciplined during the holidays but I was not perfect.

So having said all this, I have decided that I am going to work really hard for the next 6 weeks to try to make up for my occasional slip ups. That will put me pretty close to Spring Break so it will be good to have a goal. I found some videos (Body Rock TV - Lisa Marie) that have super hard but easy to follow workouts that I am going to incorporate. I will go to the gym prepared and force myself to balance my weights & cardio. I am also going to try (I know I have said this before) but I really am going to try to become more of a morning gym person so that some days I can fit in 2 workouts. Last but not least I will do a much better job with my diet and eliminate the cocktails. I don't really drink much so that won't be hard, but I need to focus on it so that I don't drink empty calories on the weekends.

I am not going to post my before/ afters.. yet. Maybe I will get brave in 6 weeks.

I just went back and reread this post and realized that it sounds more "negative" than I want. I should really stress that although I don't feel I did as well as I could have, I have seen a big change in my body but more importantly I feel stronger and I am not talking physically. I really feel in control and that I can do whatever I set my mind to doing. I feel the best I have felt in a long time, maybe ever. And for a girl who has a BIG BIRTHDAY coming up later this year, that is pretty good.

I've also discovered that it's ok to be selfish with your time and treat yourself to things you enjoy. There is an incredible power in both.
Here is to starting over... Reset.

Love me some Lulu

LOVE LOVE LOVE the Lululemon Manifesto. Read it.
 It has some powerful quotes. Some of my favorites are all over my shirt. :-D

V.

I have said it before, and I will say it again....

You can work out until the cows come home, but until you are ready, willing, and able to radically change your diet YOUR BODY WILL NOT CHANGE.

I spent the most time I ever spent at the gym and took up running on top of that yet all I did was "watch" what I ate. I still had the occasional cocktail. I thought that by hitting the gym & running that I would not only negate that, but also lose weight ... NOPE.

Tons of hours GONE. Thousands spent on a trainer, GONE. It wasn't until I FINALLY listened to my trainer and followed her diet regimen that I started to see major change. So, if you are not ready to do that.... keep hitting the gym, keep up with your walking, running, etc. It's good for your heart. But, don't expect to come swimming out of your clothes.

And this thought deserves a post all by itself.

If you are interested in getting a sample weekly menu... let me know.

V.

Full disclosure ... On the wagon

First things first, for those that are following... THANK YOU!!! I was hesitant at first to start up a blog but I am so glad I did. I have been REALLY moved by so many requests for the link and the motivational messages I have gotten. I didn't realize that so many of us struggle with the same challenges. It can be a little scary to share, but y'all have made it worth it. YOU are also helping me hold myself accountable, so THANK YOU!

Ok, so in the spirit of full disclosure I want to say that the holidays were a bit tough, but not because of "temptations" per say but just time. I was able to make it to the gym and keep up with  my work outs but the food prep fell off the list. Luckily I still made good choices whenever possible but I was not as strict with my diet as I had been prior to the holidays. I definitely made more concessions.

One thing that helped about being on some sort of program and knowing that I was going to have to take weekly pictures, measurements, etc was that when I was in a social setting I made good choices and my number of "bad" bites were far less than what I would have done had I not been working on my fitness. I did have cocktails as well, but I again far more selective.

I am not going to beat myself up over it because as I have said before... life is short. This effort is self imposed and the holidays come once. This year, my parents came to visit and I really did as much as possible to make it wonderful for everyone. From decorating, to countless trips to Costco, Trader Joes, etc etc etc. There were candles blazing, Christmas music playing, and plenty of food & drink. I did the best that I could but I wasn't perfect. But, for the remainder of this challenge I will do my best to stay on track.

More blogs & pics to come... Stay tuned....

V.