Saturday, May 28, 2016

21 DF Day 5-6: The Dirty 30

Day 5: 
Good news! It's almost the end of the week and I'm still alive! Woohoo!! So last we spoke I told you about the changes I made with my diet and ended with the easier Pilates day. Well let me tell you, I now see why they have a toned down day half way through. It's because it's about to get amped up in a major way. Day 5 workout is another cardiovascular day, but it is NOT the same cardiovascular workout done on day 1. This one doesnt include the use of weights which is a little bit of a double edged sword. It was nice because weights are heavy, but it kind of sucked when I realized my body was my weights instead and my body is much heavier than my weights lol. Basically this work out included lots of planking, high knees, and burped - oh the burpees.

I did want to mention here to the third and final flavor of my Shakeology regimen, the cafe latte. I actually expected to love this one because I am a Starbucks addict!!! However, I was a little let down. I'd have liked the coffee taste to have been a little stronger. So all in in all my definite favorite  flavor is chocolate followed by cafe latte and then vanilla rounding out the bottom (bleh vanilla)

Day 6:
So Day 6 was a workout called the "Dirty 30". Honestly I'm not really sure why. Maybe it's because it feels like you're working like 30 muscles all at once. It kinda of kicked my booty. It's a lot work with weights, like doing 5 zillion sumo squats while lifting weights. I'm not gonna lie, I was feeling like I was progressing until this workout. It felt like day 1 again where I felt like I was doing every move like 2x slower than the people on my tv. Even the easier modifier lady was blowing me out of the water. I am proud to say though that I didn't stop I just kept moving at my own pace because even that is better than nothing. I did actually do a substitute exercise for the last rep though because that particular move I was supposed to be doing hurt my hip in a weird way, so to avoid injury I made up my own move

So to sum it all up, I do actually feel like I am seeing a change in my body. I feel like I am staring to slim down in areas and for a little definition. I'm going to quit leaving you Shakeology updates because I've told you about all three flavors I've tried and I'm going to have one once a day. End of story lol. I would love to hear if anyone reading this has done or is doing the 21 Day Fix. Just let me know in comments about your experience. I will see everyone back here tomorrow for end of my first week!

Thursday, May 26, 2016

21 DF Day 3-4: I See It

Ok so I am smooshing these two days together into one update because I kind of totally reworked my entire original schedule/plan. I am now doing my workouts at night because that way I can rest after and not have to worry about having enough energy to go through work and the rest of my day. Therefore after my Day 3 work out I was kinda too tired to type a blog post - sorry not sorry lol.

Day 3:
Ok so the work out for day 3 was "the lower fix". As you can imagine it worked your lower abs, glutes, and legs. I actually found this workout to be a little easier for me because I did dance from the age of 9 to 19 and, while that was some time ago, I feel like I still have a little residual muscle left there while upper body I have zero - like really it's sad.

For the Day 3 food, I played around a little bit like I mentioned in my last post. For breakfast, I again had my egg and toast, but I also added my Shakeology Shake as well. I felt much fuller and I've always heard breakfast is the most important meal. For the rest of the day, I still used the boxes during meals, but if it wasn't satisfying me, I added like an extra veggies box or fruit box etc from I'm "supposed to be eating" according to Plan A. Guess what? I felt 110% better and I feel like I'm still eating healthy enough to get results.

Day 4:
The workout for Day 4 was definitely my favorite so far. It could be because it was a little easy for a "recovery" day, but hey judge me. Day 4 was Pilates Day. I actually did enjoy it because Pilates help to give you more flexibility which is definitely one of my goals. Plus the planks in this work... I cant even lol.
Me trying to touch my toes--->

For the food on Day 4 I followed my modified method like I explained above for Day 3. I'm not gonna lie because I told you I'd be totally honest, I did allow myself a "cheat item" today - plain vanilla ice cream cone, but let me defend myself. First, I have been working really hard this week and deserve a reward. Second, it's been proven that people on a diet are more successful if they allow themselves one "cheat item" a week. (That info came from my bf, not sure how "proven" it is lol) Lastly, I wholeheartedly believe every girl is entitled to one yummy good item on the first day that Aunt Flo comes to visit. Sorry if that's tmi, but it's true, ask any girl.

All in all, I am still happy with how this is going. Even with me modifying the eating plan, I do feel like I am starting to see some changes. I feel like I can see just a tiny bit of muscle starting to poke through woop woop!!!

Please if you have done the 21 Day Fix, let me know your thoughts on it in comments or if you're currently doing it, let me know how it's going and if you're experiencing the same as me! If you're interested in what I'm doing and have any questions I'm not answering in my rants, let me know!
Goodnight Loves!

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

21 DF Day 2: I'm Hangry

Ok so let me start off by saying today was not a good day. Yesterday went MUCH smoother! First of all I didn't get up like up until 8 instead of at 7 like I had planned. I worked a late shift last night and I was tired. When I got up I still felt really asleep and sluggish, so I sat and let myself kind of wake up first before hopping into a work out.

The Workout:
Today for my work out I did the "Upper Fix" workout. It is 30 minutes of weight work that targets your arms, back, and abs. Now I will say that I am QUITE sore from yesterday's total cardio, but I did find that today's workout was a little easier for me. It was more isolated movements so I didn't get out of breath as much. I was actually able to keep up with the other people and didn't have to resort to the easier modified moves.

The Food:
So I have pretty much been totally hangry all day! I NEVER expected for the food portion to be what I struggled with the most. I did eat breakfast this morning which helped a little. I had one scrambled egg (proteins box) and one piece of toast (carbs box). Since I am not really supposed to have like butter and stuff, I just left the toast plain and piled my egg on top of it making like a weird little egg sandwich. I seasoned my egg with just a little garlic powder and a pinch of cheese. For my mid-morning snack I had my Shakeology shake (protein box - vanilla today which I didn't like as well, but I'll explain later) and some raw almonds and cubed cheese (healthy fats box). Now here is where my day got negative. With the portioned eating and workouts that I'm use to, I got a little exhausted I sat on the couch just for a breather and I passed out. I totally slept through lunch! When I did wake up, I had a headache, felt horribly sluggish, and was starving. I filled my entire fruit box to the brim with blueberries and strawberries and devoured them all. I was still hungry! I knew dinner was going to be here soon so I got in the shower to make time go faster, but I could feel my mood totally sinking and felt very irritable because all I really wanted to do was go eat a piece of leftover pizza out of the fridge. For dinner my boyfriend made shrimp and rice (carb and protein boxes). He made his stir fry style, but lovingly made mine separate with with healthier approved seasoning (like no soy sauce). It looked so good and smelled even better! My stomach was growling. I got out my little boxes and when I filled them and poured out the contents onto my plate I literally wanted to cry! It was so little from what I would normally eat. I finished that super fast and quickly made an impromptu salad in my veggies box, but I was still hungry. I HATE not feeling full after a meal and I have felt a hunger all day which has made me feel nauseous and gave me a headache. I'm likely going to fill up another box of fruits here in a minute to see if that will do any help. I did get all of my daily water in today though so yay!

Shakeology:
So today as I said above, I tried the Vanilla shake. It was alright, but not as good as chocolate. At first it was yummy, but the more I drank, I wasn't crazy about it and had to struggle to finish it. I don't like a ton of sweet things and vanilla is sweet. It also did not mask the protein flavor as much as the chocolate.

In conclusion, I have been in a bad mood all day because I have been hungry and haven't felt good at all. I am feeling a little defeated. I am not sure this is the program for me. I can see where it would work well who is looking to do a lot of weight loss, but my goal is more to just turn my pudge into muscle and to look more athletic build than Pillsbury dough boy build. I weigh around 130 so that is what most people doing this kind of thing would hope to have as an ending weight. I'm starting to think that I am not getting enough calories to sustain myself after the hard workouts. I don't know if I am not doing this correctly or what, but I think what I might do if tomorrow does not go better, is to definitely keep up with the workouts, but modify the eating plan. I like how the eating plan is forcing me to eat healthy well rounded meals, but I don't think I should be constantly hungry to the point where I don't feel good. So I might just try a little bit bigger portions of the healthy suggested meals, but still not over eat.

If anyone has, or is currently doing the 21 Day Fix, PLEASE comment below with any pointers or if you has the same issues! Have great night and say a prayer that tomorrow goes easier for me!

Monday, May 23, 2016

21DF Day 1: The Food

Shakeology:
So for each day from here on I'll just do one post for each update, but being my first day I was just ranting way too much in my post on the workout portion so I decided to make two separate posts. Ok so for part of your nutrition for the 21 days includes Shakeology. This is essentially a protein shake that acts as a source of vitamins and nutrients to make sure that you are getting everything you need while cutting your actual food sources. Now I have had protein/supplemental shakes in the past like BOOST or SlimFast and they seriously taste like liquefied vitamins. They tell you it's chocolate flavored, but the drink definitely leaves you wondering if whoever created it has ever ACTUALLY had chocolate at any point in their life. HOWEVER, I am pleasantly surprised with Shakeology. I was astounded that the chocolate shake ACTUALLY TASTED LIKE CHOCOLATE! I made mine with water because I am actually a dark chocolate fan so the blandness didn't really bother me, but if it does you, you can use almond milk, etc. The Shakeology drink uses up ONE of your protein boxes for the day.

Real Food:
Ok now this part was actually a lot more difficult than I expected. So depending on which plan you are, you can eat a certain number of boxes each day. My plan consists of the following: Veggies box 3x per day, Fruits box 2x per day, Proteins box 4x per day, Carbs box 2x per day, Healthy Fats box 1x per day, Seeds and Dressings box 1x per day, and Oils and Nut Butters 1 teaspoon 2x per day. So what I did today I am actually not going to do again because I did get a little hungrier than I should have due to how many calories I burned during my workout. For breakfast I had my Shakeology shake (proteins box) even though they suggest it as a mid-morning snack instead. I don't usually eat breakfast and thought I'd be fine until my snack, but NO I got hungry and will be eating breakfast from here on out lol. For my mid-morning snack I had a cup of strawberries and blue berries(fruits box) with a cup of almonds (healthy fats box). For lunch I had some grilled pork (proteins box), strawberries, blueberries, raspberries (fruits box), and a small salad with tomatoes and cucumbers (veggies box). I also paired this with 8oz of black coffee (no sugar or creamer/half and half/milk - those are no nos) I did get a little hungry about two hours after lunch and had 1 teaspoon of natural peanut butter and 1 teaspoon of coconut oil and surprisingly that actually did curb my hunger until dinner. Finally at dinner, I had baked fish (proteins box) and yellow corn (veggies box). The hardest things about the day was the planning. It really was harder having to THINK about what to put in the boxes. Instead of just piling stuff on a plate, I really had to plan out when and how to squeeze in my food groups. The only other thing I had an issue with was not getting to use salt to season! I am a SALT LOVER and having to give that up kind of sucked, but I compensated with things like cumin and garlic powder.

Water Intake:
The program suggests you drink at least 1 gallon of water a day. They suggest to divide your weight by 2 and that's how many ounces your body needs at a minimum. This was a little tricky, especially with my job. I had to keep stopping and reminding myself to sip some. I got just right at my minimum, but trying for a little more tomorrow! I definitely could tell during my workout that I wasn't properly hydrated!

Well that's it for my first day in the 21 Day Fix! If you have done or are currently doing this program, let me know and share your thoughts on it in the comments section! I am going to go pass out now! Good Night!

21 DF Day 1: WTF Workout

The Workout:
Well wow. That's really all I can say. So today is my first day of the 21 Day Fix. Let's just start out at the beginning. I decided due to my work schedule, it would be easiest for me to do my workout portion of the fix in the mornings. So (because of health tips I had read on pinterest - where else) I would set my alarm and get up at 7am for the next 21 days to complete my daily workout. According to said Pinterest sources, it's good to wake up early and at the same time every morning. Yall let me tell you, I can't even remember the last time I saw 7am...

Anyway my alarm went off at 7am and I was surprised that I actually wasn't as tired as I had expected. I went into the bathroom and dressed into some workout clothes. I then came into the kitchen and drank a small glass of warm water (something else pinterest said was healthy practice in the mornings, please comment below with experience on this). Then I checked my workout schedule. Day 1 is the "Total Body Cardio Fix". This is 30 Minutes of high intensity cardio with a free weight. Let me also make a side note here that suggested weight for females is 3-5 pounds. When I purchased them I went straight for the 3 pounds, but my boyfriend talked me into the heavier option saying "It's only 5 pounds". NEVER LISTEN TO YOUR BOYFRIEND! BOYS ARE DUMB THEY KNOW NOTHING! lol I kid... kind of. For real though, If you're a newbie I 100% recommend the 3 pound weights. I couldn't do the entire workout with them because my puny arms couldn't take it.

Ok so let me tell you, if I has any doubts of whether or not these workouts can whip your booty into shape, they are now totally gone. Let me break this down for you. There are about 6 or 7 people performing the workout and leading you through it. All of them are doing the workout full blast 100% and then there is one person doing a modified (little bit easier) version.
We began with a warm up. I was super excited to get started and the warm up seemed easy enough a couple jumping  jacks, running in place, etc. Thoughts like "Yea I'm awesome at this" and "Yea this is a piece of cake". I was keeping up with the rest of the group, not needing the easier modified version at all. My confidence was cut short. Suddenly after a short bit, the host says ok lets start our first exercise. Um excuse me what? That was still the warm up? Why am I out of breath from a warm up? How out of shape am I?? Guys. I am not lying to you when I say that what came next beat me into the ground. I have never sweat or gasped for breath so much in a 30 span before. Every muscle in my body was screaming. I NEVER use "cuss" words, but I am pretty sure a few slipped out today. Every time the main girl would say "Push through it" I'd think "B**** I am pushing to even breath"! I did my best for the first "round" (there were 4 in all) I kept up with the main people and used my weights. However, halfway through I first had to lose the weights and do the moves without. Then I had to push past my pride and succumb to the "easy version" of the moves. It felt bad to know I was so out of shape that I was struggling to complete the easy modified version of a workout.

 I did push through though and I can't tell you how good it felt to hear the words "It's time to do our cool down". I seriously thought I was going to vomit everywhere. I have never been so out of breath and exhausted doing any other workout. 21 days suddenly seems like a life time, but sitting here knowing I completed my first workout actually gives me more motivation and hope that next week it will be get easier! I am excited to see what comes out of this because now I can definitely see how this plan can work.

If you have any experience with the 21 Day Fix definitely share your story in the comments. It will be nice to know that I am not alone lol!

I'll see you back here tomorrow to give you an update, that is if I can even move :)

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Preparing For A Challenge: 21 Day Fix

The Realization:
Have you ever been looking through old photos and had the "Who the heck is that? Holy crap that's me?" moment? Well I had that moment recently an it was a horrific realization. I was recently looking through random facebook photos from college. I looked really confident and felt great about the pics. However, I then compared them to recent pics and was horrified. I could not believe how my body had changed in a few short years. It was like a crazy slap in the face and I immediately felt embarrassed. First of all, let me start out by saying I know I am not obese, but I'm unhealthy and lacking even the slightest ounce of muscle definition. Most people would look at my weight and say that I have nothing to worry about, but I am quite short at 5'2 and used to be very active, my extra fluff can begin to make me look like an oompa loompa. I decided something had to change. I am no longer living the active lifestyle of a college kid with nothing strapping them down with an endless metabolism that can take on the junkiest of foods. I am now lazy Netflix addict who slowly slips into "show holes" while devouring a Little Caesars deep dish stuffed crust pizza.

The Research:
I immediately took to the internet and of course right a million things popped up! A million diets, a new thing called "wraps" (?), and let's not forget the wide world of Pinterest. All of these solutions seemed like a bunch of money making gimmicks and I quickly became over whelmed and pretty much just turned back to my best friend Netflix. Even though my motivation had kind of left me for the time, I found myself not quite as comfortable wearing those skinny jeans or laying by the pool in my bikini. I noticed that I was much more self aware and wondered if my boyfriend or family noticed the same changes with my body that I had. It made the horrible self awareness feeling grow. A short time later, I noticed a post on facebook from someone I had gone to college with. She had posted a before and after shot from a workout program she had just finished. I couldn't believe it. It was a crazy transformation and I wanted the same thing. I wanted that before and AMAZING after shot. I commented on her pic and asked her what program she used. We started messaging and it turned out she had used programs from beach body and it had worked so well for her she was now a beach body coach. Now up until this point I had always grouped beach body into the above mentioned gimmick category, but actually seeing someone you know with a success story and a trustworthy before and after shot where you recognize that it is the same person in both gives you a little relief and hope.



The Result: 
So after much deliberation and talking back and forth with this person, I decided to go for it. I purchased the 21 Day Fix and Shakeology challenge. I mean I can do anything for 21 days right?
I am totally committed to doing this because I want to get back to being that confident girl in my old pictures. My pack has already arrived in the mail and I am attaching pictures below so that you can see what all is in it. To prepare to start my challenge tomorrow, I had to do a couple things. First, I had to take dreaded before pics. Let me tell you I recommend taking them, but not actually looking at them until you have finished the program because I was horrified! I was planning on sharing them in this post, but couldn't bring myself to hen the time came lol. (I SOLEMLY SWEAR THAT I WILL POST THEM THOUGH WITH MY AFTER SHOT AT THE END) Next, I had to calculate which eating plan based off of calories was right for me (I will be using Plan A). I also had to make sure I stocked my fridge with lots of fruits and veggies that aren't normally there and finally I had to invest in some $5 weights from Walmart. Now I am ready. I will be starting first thing in the morning and I plan to update this blog regularly throughout my experience!
(For those who don't know, 21 Day Fix is a program that is designed around tailored workouts and portion control. You are given small boxes for each food group and you are only allowed to each bx so many times in a day based off of which eating plan you calculate for yourself - the kit has a calculation guide to assist you)



Here you can see the 21 Day Fix Kit with workout dvds and portion boxes and also the 30 day Shakeology kit (you do get to choose whatever flavor you want, but I got a sampler option because I hate having the same thing everyday) So, If you have used the 21 Day Fix or Shakeology, definitely comment below and let me know how it worked out for you! Definitely keep checking back too for updates because I won't sugar coat it. I'll let you know exactly how well or not well the program is working for me! Until them, Wish me Luck!!!