Going Forward... the 2nd 12 Weeks of my transformation.

My 42nd birthday is July 23rd... I have Goals to reach by then!

That will be just a little bit past my second "12 Week" mark.  I have some goals that I want to meet, but mostly I want to make some new changes and habits.

During my first 12 weeks, I wanted to (A) Lose Fat & (B) Get Healthier.

I managed to:

1. Stop drinking alcohol (once a month instead of every night)
2. Stop eating grains (a 6 month goal, at which point I will gradually add them back in to see what/if anything bothers me digestive-wise)
3. Eat "Clean" six days a week (The main change for ME: cut out grains, sugar & artificial sweeteners)
4. Eat more protein
5. Celebrate one cheat meal/day a week as I felt I needed it (sometimes I ended up with a day of noshing on this or that, but most often I had one treat for the day and that was plenty!)
6. Workout with weights at least 4 days a week, usually 5-6
7. Increase my strength a LOT!
8. Start falling asleep by 10:00 instead of 1 or 2 am!!!  (this was HUGE!!!)
9. Start taking my supplements & vitamins regularly
10. accomplish a daily fitness/workout challenge every day each month
11. I've lost 17 pounds, went from 41% body fat to 35.7% AND lost lost of inches (around 20)
12. I have more energy, more focus and feel MUCH more comfortable in my own skin.

During my second 12 Weeks, I would like to add a few new habits:

• Try carb cycling
• Eat a LOT more fresh vegetables (spring is in the air!)
• Add in Cardio three times a week (starting with SMALL doses with HIIT on the bike & elliptical)
• Keep up the weight lifting, keep up the challenges and clean eating
• Lose another 17-24 pounds of fat, get down to 30% body fat & lose more inches!!!
• Find a better way to deal with stress

Non fitness related, but because I finally have energy and better focus:

• Paint something each week
• Work on my script formatting at least a few times a week
• Do something special, specifically for my husband each week
• Have a family dinner once a week
• Spend time with the kids doing something physical at least weekly

I will also start posting my workouts here at least when they change. 

Week 3 Check In Results & Workout, Transformation: Phase 2

Week 3 (My 21 Day Check in) 

Weight 202 (down from 210)  Lost 8 pounds!

Body fat 39% (down from 40%)  Lost 1%

NON Scale Victories?  Why, yes, I have those, too!

• I haven't had even an ounce of alcohol since I started this challenge, and I have been so focused on my health, I haven't even wanted it!
• I have been sleeping really well
• I have managed to catch myself when I'm beating myself up or being negative and I've stopped the thoughts in their tracks.  (Sometimes this takes a bit, and sometimes it doesn't "stick" really well, but I'm on it!)

I'm starting phase two a week early.  I am a little weird about things  and I wanted to get my "months" within actual months.  I know, I'm strange.

Anyway, I've made up a chart for tracking this workout that puts everything together so you can easily see your progress.  This is from Jamie Eason's Live Fit Trainer on Body Building's site.  I just made a few tweaks, mostly because I need to be careful of my back and I don't want two full leg days as my legs are already bulkier than I'd like.   I made copies for my family members who are doing this with me so that they can keep track as well.

Last night was our first workout on Phase 2.  Both my husband and my sports loving 17 year old son went to the gym with me last night, even though we went right  after the Super Bowl started!  That's some dedication, right there!

I had to do assisted pull ups.  I needed 115 pounds of assistance!  Ugh!!!  BUT, that just ups my determination.  I will be able to do some unassisted pull ups by the end of this 12 week challenge!  I was actually sore by the time we left the gym, and was definitely feeling my lats this morning!  Yay for a great workout!

Then... I'll need new goals!

Anyway, I just wanted to share my workout with you... I've been keeping up and doing well!

Don't forget our February Squat Challenge!  I'm keeping up with that, too!

Day #4 Workout: Super Sets Upper Body!

Whoo HOO!!!  Today was one of those days when having my husband there as my 'trainer' came in really handy.  I think.  He kicked my ass.  Of course I may not be able to lift my arms tomorrow to lift my ass out of bed, so maybe I should withhold judgement as to how awesome he is.  He pushed me really hard today.  He knows me well enough to know that I need to see some changes, soon, and I need to feel that I worked out.

My workout journal comment was, "Felt FANTASTIC, but shaky as hell when leaving the gym.  Holy crap.  I did a lot of those to complete failure.  I am going to FEEL this tomorrow!"

If I had a smart phone, this would have been me:

Photo Credit

Day 4
1/16/2013
Time 1:55-3:20 
Cardio Recum. Bike 40 minute interval 2-5
Arms:  Supersets
Preacher Curl 12x12ea 12x12ea 12x12ea
Close Grip Bench Press 30x12 30x12 40x12
Dumbbell Curls 12x12 12x12 12x12
Lying Dumbbell Ext 12x12 12x12 12x12
Incline Dumbbell Curls 12x12 12x10 12x6
Pushdowns (dips) 140asst.x12 160asst.x12 135asst.x12

In other words, I'm going to be flopping around like a fish out of water come tomorrow morning.  It ought to be lovely.  Come to think of it, I bet that would make for a fantastic workout vlog post.  I could get my girls to film me trying to get out of bed without working arms (my mattress is on the floor, so it kind of requires arms, especially with a gimpy back!)

Oh well, tomorrow is a REST DAY, so all I will be expected to do is stretch and drive my kids to their different classes/jobs/etc.  I'm good with that.  As long as I can life my arms enough to steer.  I don't know how much I bet on that, since I shaved my arm pits as soon as I got home, just in case I can't lift my arms for a few days starting tomorrow.  They didn't even NEED it!  That's how paranoid I am!

What did you work out today?

Ten Days Down. Let the Planning Commence!

So my husband, Patrick aka Personal Trainer gave me ten more days of down time for my back to heal.  Then I can start PiYo.  And get back to my TOTALLY AWESOME BODY TRANSFORMATION!!!  I hope to be strong enough by the end of the month to add in weights and other cardio.

My plan is to have a plan.  Deep, right?  I know:) I'm using Jamie Eason's fat loss workout plan from the Body Building website.  It is laid out in such a way that you can print out the workouts to keep track of your weight/reps, etc.  I'm excited to have something so well laid out.  I also plan on doing PiYo and extended stretching at least three times a week as well.

3 Month Goals!

*Beginning January 15, 2013

(vague until I am healed enough to get a measurable starting point)

• Increase flexibility (I'll set actual measurable goals once my back heals and I can see where I'm starting from!)  This is a big one for me because I have never been flexible and I know it is a big factor in my injuries.  I want that to STOP!
• Lower body fat (I ordered this electronic body fat analyzer today and I'm really looking forward to seeing how my body fat % is going down as I work out!)
• Lose 25-30 pounds.  I know this is a somewhat high amount, but I have at least 75 pounds to lose, so I don't think its unreasonable.  After the first 3-4 months, I plan to focus even more on strength training and developing those habits, but I really need to get a good portion of this weight off so that my joints and my back aren't under so much pressure.  
• Increase Cardio:  I want to be able to do 30 minutes (not counting warm up & cool down) on the elliptical with resistance/incline HIIT and not be dying at the end!  I'm starting at no resistance, no incline and doing just 30 minutes of that is tiring!  I want to improve this hard core!
• Increase Weights when lifting AND be able to do: 
• 3 full pull ups (I'm super pathetic in that area right now, but its very important to me to increase my upper body strength!)
• 10 pushups (no knees)
• 2 minute plank
• 5 Turkish Get Ups (weight TBD)
• Improved Nutrition:
• Isagenix:  EITHER one 9 day cleanse each month, or one 30 days cleanse to start.
• Cut wheat out entirely for the first 3 months
• Cut out refined sugars, HFC & MSG completely.
• Limit grains

Coming Soon!  My Six Month Goals

*Once I'm about a month or so into my first 3 months, I'll set definitive goals for the end of June

My husband and I Feb. 2011

**My 19th anniversary is at the end of June!!!  I want to have a formal party on our back deck and I want to look and feel fabulous when I celebrate with my amazing husband!  So some of my goals may be vague, but I want to have plenty of energy, I want to feel GREAT about myself and what I've accomplished... and most of all, I want to feel sexy:)  I mean, what could be better for celebrating 19 amazing years together?