Yesterday marked 19 weeks on my weight loss and fitness journey so far. A little less than 4 1/2 months. And today I finally hit my next milestone when the scale dropped below 180.
It’s hard to believe that 19 weeks ago I was 35 pounds heavier, and at least 26 inches larger overall (stat day is Saturday, so I’ll know full measurements then). There were a lot of things I realized in those first few weeks of this journey:
- I couldn’t do a regular push-up (off my knees).
- Burpees were an absolute nightmare.
- I had to take rests with my 5 pound weights during the workouts.
- 30 minutes seemed like THE LONGEST HALF HOUR EVER.
- I couldn’t even sit down on the toilet without holding on to the tub or sink to steady me.
- Ow, my feet…and my thighs…and my butt…and my arms…and my…
Thank god for Kat & Tonia. For those of you that have done 21 Day Fix and/or T25, can I get an Amen?! For those of you that haven’t, they are the modifiers that simplify things a little bit so that you don’t have to be a fitness trainer (like Autumn or Shaun T respectively) to get through the workout. There are days when all I did was follow them and Autumn/Shaun T just faded in the background haha. Almost every program through Beachbody has a modifier so that any fitness level can participate…so don’t think you can’t do it.
I am proud to say that since I have made it through one round of the 21 Day Fix and T25 Alpha, Beta, and 2 weeks of Gamma, I can do so much more than I ever thought I could before. In addition to losing weight and inches, my body can handle so much more physical activity and it needs less time to recover afterwards. I honestly feel like I’m in better shape now than I ever have been in my life! I can now:
- Do FULL PUSH-UP’s without my knees…not all of them, but some of them and that’s progress.
- I use EIGHT pound weights…and really need to get tens.
- Make it through Speed 3.0 which has approximately 80 burpees in different forms or another…without modifying.
- Walk for an hour or run for 20 minutes in the morning AND do my T25 video in the afternoon…making my daily activity at an hour or more.
- Easily sit on the toilet without pain…even after a full workout with squats.
So, a couple words of advice for those of you that feel like you’ve tried everything and nothing has worked (yes, I’ve been there)…
1. If you haven’t started tracking your activity and what you put into your body…START! You’d be surprised how everything adds up…especially for you grazers!
2. Drink more of this magical thing known as WATER. It helps your organs function, flushes your system, keeps you hydrated, and tricks your body into thinking you aren’t hungry. Pretty awesome stuff.
3. Find something that will work for you. I know about myself that I won’t be able to stick to something on my own. This is why I started a Beachbody program back in 2006 (before they even had coaches!). I knew I needed a set nutrition guide and workout schedule to follow so that it wasn’t a guessing game. If it’s a Beachbody program, awesome! Hit me up! If it’s Weight Watchers, that worked really well for me in the past, too. If it’s just counting calories or carbs or whatever…cool. Just find something that works for you and STICK TO IT.
4. Focus on YOU. If you’re doing this for someone else, I can almost guarantee that you aren’t going to be successful. Feel free to prove me wrong (I double dog dare ya :-P), but you really need to be in this for YOU. And don’t focus on what is happening with other people. If your husband can eat whatever the heck he wants and not gain a pound, well la de freakin’ da. Good for him. We aren’t all blessed with that kind of metabolism and some of us need to work a lot harder than others. Know what you need to do to get to where you want to be. Learn what your body can handle, physically, mentally, etc. Push it, but don’t overdo it. Again, do what works for YOU. It may take some trial and error, but once you find something that works, you’ll know it and it’ll feel great.
5. The biggest piece of advice I have is…don’t try something for a short amount of time and say it isn’t working. You need to give things time to work. And you need to TRY. There’s a board I belong to and EVERY DAY people are in there, “OMG, I tried this and I can’t do it.” They’re on day one. DAY FREAKIN’ ONE. If you haven’t been eating right or being very active, of course it’s going to hurt. Of course you’re going to be hungry. Of course you’re going to be expected to do things you’ve never done before…because you want it to work, right? GIVE IT TIME. Stick to it and see what it can do. That’s all I ask. Just TRY.
Okay, that’s it. Did you have an epiphany? Does this enlighten you? Inspire you? If so, get up and do a little dance. Who cares if someone is watching. The coolest moments in life are spontaneous ones…that leave you filled with hope. I HOPE you start your own journey to better things. Whether it’s to lose weight, tone up, be more confident, stop relying on others, whatever. Just do it. No excuses…only results. Are you up to the challenge?