Last week, I wrote about a new challenge I am taking to lose 20% of my body weight in 60 days. If you haven't, you can read that here. I'm one week into my 8 week journey, and I feel great!
This week has not been an easy one by any means, but the rewards are so worth it! Here's what I did:
- Clean Eating. Exercise is worthless if you don't balance it with a healthy menu. I gave up my favorites - pasta, chocolate, and vodka- (not an easy feat!) and traded them in for veggies, protein, and shakeology. The hardest part about this challenge is eating enough. With the amount of working out I'm doing, I'm should be eating over 2,000 calories. That's not an easy task when you're filling your body with kale and kiwi.
- Pain is gain. I'm doing two intense workout routines simultaneously. The popular 21 Day Fix, a less strenuous weight-based program, and Insanity, a program with which I have a passionate love/hate relationship. Where the 21 Day Fix is a bit more relaxed with easy to accomplish workouts that you will feel the next day, Insanity is more of a high-intensity, 'kick my butt 'til I collapse' cardio routine. The two together are the perfect combination of exhaustion and energy all in one.
- Motivation and Accountability. If I didn't have specific goals, this challenge would be nearly impossible. I joined an accountability group on Facebook where I can share my goals and progress and hear the highs and lows of my fellow challengers. I have also told anyone and everyone who will listen what I'm doing. The fear of letting people (and myself) down is stronger than my need to dive into a tub of ice cream. I mean how embarrassing would it be to tell the everyone that I gave up? Not happening!
- Rewards. Whenever I hit a milestone, I get a reward. I have 8 weeks to reach my goal. Each week that I hit my weekly goal, I buy myself something fun or pretty. This week, I got adorable new wedges! Next week, maybe a roadtrip! I've also enlisted the help of my super hot boyfriend (who of course tells me I'm beautiful the way I am). Every 5 pounds I lose, he has to give me a massage... the good kind.. Sorry, Dad! After all, I'm sore from all this working out! If that's not motivation to hit the gym, I don't know what is!
- 7.5 pounds- Whoopie! That's like a newborn. I lost a baby in a week. I'll take it.
- 4.5 inches- A bit off the belly, a bit off the hips. Little by little, the fat is melting away and it feels great!
- On my way to losing 20% of my body weight, I am down 3.15%. So far so good.
Check back next Monday to see if Ican keep
