Results from 21 Day Fix

Hello all!  I did it again! I pushed myself harder than I have in forever, and I completed a round of 21 Day Fix!  It wasn't as fun or as easy as Country Heat, and I did have some minor hiccups here and there but I pushed play everyday.  I never skipped a workout and I couldn't be prouder of myself for it.

Just like my previous results post, I am going to recap last week's goals, discuss my accomplishments and challenges, give my thoughts on the 21 Day Fix program, and than give you the results.  So, if you are impatient and just want to see how I did, go ahead and skip down the page.  I'll also let you know what program I started today.  That's right I jumped right into the next program this morning!  Seriously, why wait?!

Goal #1 - Double workouts!!!!

I crushed this!  I wanted to follow the week 3 option for double workouts all throughout the week (except the weekend, because I went to Super Saturday!) and I did it!  Everyday!  I really surprised myself, I had moments when I wanted to skip one workout or just skip a day all together because my muscles were so sore, but I pushed through and I hit play twice each day.

Goal #2 - Try a new recipe or type of food

Nutrition is always a struggle when it doesn't entertain my taste buds, so I wanted to push myself and try things I never have.  I love to eat but I really dislike cooking, but I tried some new things and to say the least, I have some new favorite recipes.  I made a crustless quiche that was the bomb!  I tried turkey sausage stuff zucchini boats, that the kids loved too (win, win)!  I even tried out some coconut baked shrimp, that weren't half bad.  All in all, I don't think trying new recipes will be such a challenge in the future.

Goal #3 - Better sleep schedule

I am not a morning person, so I struggled with this a great deal and didn't make too much of an improvement.  I did wake up early and get my workout out of the way first thing a couple of mornings but I didn't do it consistently.  This is something that I'll have to continue to work on.

This round's challenges were more mental than physical.  Being healthy doesn't just mean being strong, having a trim waist, or being able to run a mile in under 10 minutes (though I hope to be able to accomplish that one day).  It also means thinking healthy, and I don't just mean making healthy food choices or deciding to workout.  I have several mental stigmas that have hindered me in the past, that I have been fighting to overcome these past few weeks.

One of the things that I am terrible about is holding myself to unrealistically high standards.  I'm good in the sense that I don't compare myself to others, but holding myself to standards that I'm not able to (or at least not yet) meet, is not fair to myself.  Usually, when I don't meet these unattainable standards I become disappointed and discouraged and fall into old bad habits.

I have made it my mantra these last few weeks to celebrate all the victories, no matter how small and not dwell on the minor hiccups.  We all get hiccups, it's part of human nature.  Shifting my mindset, and trying to keep this positive outlook is helping me push forward, and I couldn't be happier with myself and life in general.

I also pushed myself to get outside my comfort zone and try to do the things I would consider hard.  Like, attempting to get up early and try strange recipes.  I even joined my sister, Michelle (aka my BeachBody coach) at Super Saturday.  I participated in a live workout with hundreds of other people, something I haven't been comfortable with in many years.  I had a blast, and was so inspired by the people I met there.  It was a fantastic experience!

From left to right: My cousin, Debbie (also a BeachBody Coach, myself, and my sister, Michelle.

   

All right, I'll be perfectly honest here, 21 Day Fix is not fun, but it is a real workout.  There wasn't a single workout that I didn't end up have muscle aches when it was done.  This made it a bit challenging to hit play, but the more I was feeling the burn, the more I was craving it.  Hence, the reason I decided to do double during the last week.

I would recommend this program for almost anybody.  If you've ever taken a PE class or gone to a gym workout, you can do these moves.  There is not a move breakdown like there is with Country Heat, but none of the moves are all that difficult.  Plus, each move is shown to you before you actually start your reps.  Each workout consists of a series of rounds, each round has 2-4 moves, the moves are typically repeated twice.  I highly recommend you concentrate on proper form, and following the modifier when necessary.  During the beginning I did almost all the moves modified and by the end I was only doing a small portion of them modified.

I also highly recommend following the suggested 21 Day Fix calendar because it is designed so that you don't burn out any particular muscle group.  There are also active recovery days to help you stretch out and get ready to move on, such as the Pilates Fix and Yoga Fix.  I hate yoga but by the end of the first week I realized I NEEDED it.  So, don't skip something just because you don't like it.

Though this was a really great workout, I'm not sure that I'll be revisiting it anytime soon.  There are so many other programs that I want to try, and I found out at Super Saturday a couple of new programs are coming out soon.  I love having the All-Access pass on Beachbody On Demand, so many programs to choose from.

  

Its that time!  I'm going to start off by saying I didn't feel like I had much physical progress this round.  However, after seeing some of my stats and my side by side pictures, I decided I was wrong.  Besides, it's all about the journey and celebrating all the victories no matter how small, right?!

I started 21 Day Fix on March 20th weighing in just under 140 lbs (139.9 lbs per my scale), this morning I weighed in at 138 lbs.  That is a 1.9 (almost 2 lbs) lost.  Initially, I was disappointed by this but than I decided to look at the bigger picture and the rest of the results.

I started tracking my body fat percent this round (thanks to my new scale).  I started off with a body fat % of 32.5% and I ended with a body fat % of 31.8%.  That for me is a massive improvement!  My BMI is still in the overweight range but I'm getting closer to my ideal BMI range and I'm so proud of myself.

Though the scale didn't seem like it showed much improvement, I feel my pictures and to some degree my measurements show the real progress.

Starting measurements on 3/20/2017

Right Arm 10 3/4"
Left Arm 10 7/8"
Chest 35 3/4"
Waist 34 3/4"
Hips 41 5/8"
Right Thigh 24 1/8"
Left Thigh 24 1/4"

Total 182 1/8"

Ending measurements on 4/10/2017

Right Arm 10 3/4
Left Arm 10 3/4"

Chest 34 1/4"

Waist 33 7/8"

Hips 41 1/2"

Right Thigh 23 3/4"

Left Thigh 23 7/8"

Total 178 3/4"

That's right!  I lost a total of 3 3/8"!  I haven't felt this good in a long time, I've accomplished so much so far and my hard work is really starting to pay off.  This is so encouraging that it makes me want to push harder, take myself to my limits, venture outside of my comfort zone and crush every goal in my path.  That is exactly what I plan on doing too! 

For my next program, I've gone ahead and jumped into Core de Force.  This is the program I really signed up for Beachbody on Demand for.  A couple of years ago, I went to the gym regularly just for a kick boxing class.  I LOVE kick boxing!

Image sourec: tbbcoach411.com

Why didn't I make this my first program, if I love kick boxing so much?  I didn't feel like I was physically ready yet.  I didn't want to start with something I loved and ruin it by not being able to complete the workouts.  I felt like if I started here, I probably wouldn't have made it very far and become very discouraged.  I am ready now though and after just one workout, I am so pumped I can't wait for tomorrow's.

There are three calendars to choose from, but I intend to start with the original calendar.  I'm doing this so that I can upgrade to the other calendars at a later time.  Whether or not that will be following this round I haven't decided.

Image soure: Beachbody on Demand

I feel my biggest challenge with this program will be nutrition.  It follows a similar amount of portion fix containers as Country Heat and 21 Day Fix, but on week 2 there is an increase in fruit and on week three an extra fruit and healthy fat.  As you all now fruit is a challenge for me, so I'm going to have to figure something out.  Though I did try a recipe for home made banana, peanut butter, chocolate ice cream that wasn't half bad this past week.

Another massive personal challenge for me is, Easter.  I love chocolate and it is so hard for me not to eat an entire basket all by myself.  I already know that I will be partaking in a Cadbury Cream Egg or two.  I just have to, because they are my all time favorite!  Besides, if you can't indulge once in awhile, what's the point.

I am going to skip my weekly goals this post, because it already is a long post.  Please check back next week to see how my first week of Core de Force went and whether or not I survived Easter.  Thank you so much for supporting me and joining me on this journey.  If you would like to share your weekly goals, accomplishments, and/or transformations with me, please do!  You can share on my Facebook page, a judgement free zone.  I'm already enjoying this next program, I can't wait to see how it ends!

Just Me,

Sweaty selfie, after my first Core de Force workout