My Fit Journey, Part 3: Seeing Results & Gaining Perspective

  

I have mentioned before that I started out the with mentality that I would just try out the first 3 weeks of 21 day fix, and then reevaluate to see if it was going to work.  Well, I hesitate to lead with this (because everyone’s results vary and depend on so many factors) but I lost 15 pounds in the first 21 days.

Some of the foods that are now pantry staples in my clean eating.

To frame this – you have to keep a few VERY important factors in mind: A. I was exclusively nursing my newborn, but not adding extra calories for it. My supply wasn’t suffering so there wasn’t a need. (That is an extremely personal call that you should not hesitate to discuss with your doctor. #disclaimer) 2. For me this was a COMPLETE overhaul of my nutrition, not just some minor tweaks. The red wine adds up. D. I was 100% dedicated. I did not drink alcohol, have a cheat meal, or miss a workout. I just really wanted to see what would happen if I was all-in.

(Side bar: If you noticed the Home Alone Reference in the above section before me pointing it out, I really hope we are friends in real life. You get me.)

So, 15 pounds in 21 days is something. It lured me in and kept me going. The next round was 9 pounds. Next round was 1 pound. The next round was 7.  Before I knew it, I had made it through the holidays with the will power to say no to excessive Christmas cookies & NYE Champagne and was down about 40 pounds by Valentine’s day.  People were beginning to notice. 

On the left, September 2014. Right, Valentine's Date Night, 2015.

It was frustrating at times to get so excited when I stepped on the scale and see “I’ve lost 20 pounds!” But people just assume its because the baby came out, or (properly) assume you should never comment on a woman’s weight one way or the other. One time a friend saw me and then later told his wife, “Julie has lost a lot of weight, she looks great. But I’m not sure if I’m allowed to say that to her. You can tell her.” In this case, I wouldn’t have minded hearing it, but I respect his acknowledgement that it’s a sensitive subject.  He was a smart man. When in doubt, let your wife take care of it.

I remember another time, after I had reached my goal weight (60 pounds…lost in about 6 months) and was feeling like a rock star just in time for tank top season, another friend’s hubby said to me, “I know I told you last time I saw you that you look great, but I just can’t get over it so I’m telling you again – is that annoying?”  This friend had recently graduated law school so I put it in terms he could relate to: Do you ever get tired of being told you’re a great lawyer? No? Well that’s how I feel about my fitness progress.” 

Throughout the whole process, the women in my life have made me feel proud to be surrounded by such wonderfully supportive friends.  Some friends wanted to join in and get fit too, some high school and college friends reached out on facebook after years without contact to tell me they were happy for me. One neighbor-friend and her daughter brought over an awesome ice cream Sundae when she first saw a “before” photo shared on facebook (we didn’t know each other pre-kids) to celebrate my progress. (Given the progress was in weight-loss, the ice cream Sundae was kind of hilarious, but the sentiment of support and encouragement was not lost on me!  I shared with my family and it was delish.)

Running a turkey trot with my bestie on Thanksgiving morning.

I just have to take a moment to recognize all of this. THIS: Women supporting other Women. It was partly becoming a mom to girls that brought it so top-of-mind to me but my fitness journey has also highlighted the powerful impact that women can have on other women when they support and encourage. Lift up and inspire. Celebrate without comparison.  I’ve become passionate about it.  If we are ever going to hope that little girls don’t exclude, bully, and chastise – then our most powerful tool is showing them how to act otherwise. Lead with love.  #endsoapbox #butseriously

So some days my motivation was intrinsic (I am feeling better, I am more energetic. I am worth this work.) Some days it was extrinsic. (That outfit looks great on you! Have you lost weight? Congrats on your hard work paying off!) But regardless of where it comes from, maintaining motivation is of utmost importance. Let’s dig into that a bit more next time!

Say whaaaat?! This was after lots of 21DF, some Piyo, and T25 too. 

April Showers: Make Recycled Rain Clouds with your Littles

It's nearly the end of April and we have our Midwest-fingers crossed that we have seen the last of the snow for a while... You never know though. Regardless, we are focusing on the beautiful flowers blooming and the fresh air as we take extra long walks these days checking out what's blooming in our 'hood. The kids love going on our "Nature walks" where we try to use words like "observe," & "collect." (Truth be told, I think they're on to the fact that sometimes if we're really close to naps and they ask to play longer I might say no... But a nature walk?! Why, of course!) #smartkiddos

Our final products. Now bring on the flowers!

As we enjoy our last week of April, we of course have been getting excited for May with the timeless rhyme "April showers bring May flowers." I had some old egg cartons just itching for a craft and found the cutest April showers activity on Pinterest. We broke the activity into a few parts so that we could sustain toddler attentions, and because different parts of the project seemed better suited for my kids various ages.

Supplies to gather.  Also I added in a couple small pony beads once we got going.

I prepped the activity by cutting the cardboard egg cartons. We used 2 cartons but reserved 4 of the egg cups for the next project (May flowers, of course!)

We started with painting. My 3 year old was really excited about this portion. The 1.5yo gave it a whirl but didn't last too long. He painted about 3 egg cups.

After we painted the cups, we covered a paper plate with glue and stuck cotton balls all over for the clouds. This was the perfect task for my little guy.

We spread the glue around together with a sponge brush before adding the cotton balls.

Once everything was dry, we were ready to hang out raindrops from the clouds. I worked on this section with my 4.5 year old who was very excited about the idea of sewing! 

I pre-punctured the holes for her to find in the cardboard and kept a close eye on her so her little fingers didn't get poked. She did a great job!

I added the pony beads on one end of the thread so the egg cups wouldn't slip off.  We also put a piece of tape hidden in each cup to keep them in place on the string once threaded through.

Finally we attached the strings of raindrops to our fluffy clouds with just a bit of tape. The older two helped each other with this last task.

Seriously, how cute are these?! Perfect little recycling craft to follow up after Earth day too!

My Fit Journey, Part 2: Getting the Exercise-Ball Rolling

Holy out-of-shape-Mama. Getting started with the 21-day fix workouts was fun but at the same time, I wanted to die. I mean… where do I even start?  I had just had a baby 8 weeks ago, my boobs were huge from nursing and extra weight, and I probably hadn’t done a steady routine of anything other than Vinyasa or pre-natal Yoga for 8 years. So… yeah, it was an adjustment. I was getting up before the sun, in the season when the days were already getting shorter and darker but I knew that it was the ONLY time in the day it would ever become a habit. (Even if there was a chance I would have had energy to work out at night, late sweat sessions make me a total insomniac).  

Avert your Eyes!  My under-dressed "before photo" will never be easy for me to look at, but I can at least see it now and appreciate the hard work that body went through to get me to where I am today.

But I chose to focus on it as just 21 days. Just 3 weeks. I could make it through 3 weeks. I could give it my best and see where I stood at the end of that short stint in case I needed to reevaluate.  #justkeepswimming

 

My Girl Kat! (on the right) Autumn and her abs in green.

As anyone who has checked out 21 day fix might tell you, Kat was my home-girl in the workouts.  She modifies moves, she does not have a typical fitness-model body, and she makes some witty comments that you appreciate as you’re gasping for air.  The instructor, Autumn, also has some killer motivational one -liners that are expertly placed right as you would otherwise eject the DVD and discus-throw it into oncoming traffic. But you don’t for some reason.  It just works. And before you know it, 30 minutes has passed and you are a fitness guru!  Well, maybe not quite that fast but you’ve made it through a workout and should be proud of your effort!

Then there’s the nutrition portion: without a doubt the most important part. There’s a reason fitness experts constantly say “Abs are made in the kitchen.” #butwhatifiLIKEmybagelshapedAbs?

 

I can get behind a plan thats nicely color-coded.

In general, 21-day fix is portion-controlled, clean eating. Plain & simple. Its getting rid of a lot of processed stuff. It’s breaking the sugar addiction so many of us deal with (carbs=sugars).  It’s balancing what you’re eating – because even if you love fruit but you are NEVER reaching for veggies throughout the day, there are changes to be made.  Maybe it’s not rocket science, but its certainly science, (made accessible with pretty color-coded containers for even the “Me-s” of the world who barely made it through Mr. Wendel’s physics class senior year.)

I’ll admit, even with the containers, getting started in the kitchen was baffling to me for some reason.  Like, you get these containers, but then what?  What if I’m making a casserole?  How do I make it fit into the containers?  

Am I doing this right?

Well, you don’t always literally use the containers. There’s a small learning curve to figuring out how to allocate your containers across the day and how to apply them to things other than a solitary slice of bread (“Am I supposed to squish my bread up into that container?” No.) or boring container of grapes. 

My first week’s meal-planning session took me way longer than would have been sustainable over the long term. But its like with anything: you consult pinterest, and you figure it out.  In an attempt to help YOU to not deal with the same learning curve that I experienced, I will soon share how I plan out a day and even a whole week and share sample menus with you* and how they fit into the 21 day fix nutrition. 

*In the meantime, if this whole 21-day fix thing is of any interest to you, be sure to message me or comment.  If not, just keep using me for my recipes and clever tricks. #winkyface And don’t forget to share my page with your friends #alltheWinkyFaces

My Fit Journey, Part 1: Making a Reasonable & Dedicated Choice

I mentioned in a previous post that after having my 3^rd child, in almost exactly 3 years, I no longer recognized my body.  That’s a pretty common feeling, I think, among moms.  Even if you don’t gain a ton of weight, your body goes through massive changes while doing amazing work and sometimes its shocking to see what you’re working with once the babies are all out.  That said, I like to be clear that my weight gain was not purely from my childbearing years.  I fancy myself a bit of a foodie & hostess. In our D.I.N.K. years (Dual Income, No Kids) we enjoyed vacationing, fine dining, and regular drinks & fun with friends followed by late night burritos and cheese fries. That’s the truth. So I feel like it’s important to note that its not just the mommy-hood that changed my body – but it certainly played a role too.

This photoshoot after my son was born was so bittersweet for me. In love with my family, but hard to see myself in the photos. Now I look at this photo as a catalyst for change.

So here I am, barely in my 30s, done having kids, and I’m feeling like now is my chance to try to feel better about my body. On the one hand, I respected my body so much for carrying my babies, but I didn’t really like looking at it.  Photos were BRUTAL.  And there seemed to be a lot of those now considering my obsession with my babies. I adopted the classic mom move: #staybehindthecamera

My nutrition wasn’t horrendous but it wasn’t great. While, of course, I knew veggies:good –-> Cheetos:bad, I made no conscious decisions regarding balance or portions.  And my physical activity was pretty limited to chasing toddlers.  In a totally frustrated state, I thought to myself “I’m done having kids, and no longer moonlighting at Burrito House, but I’m in this body that leaves me feeling gross and not like my best-self.”  It was time for change and I was really willing to dive in.

Even pre-kids I wasn't exactly living off green-smoothies and kale.

My sister-in-law had just gotten into some nutrition and fitness stuff and was telling me about it during a visit for my son’s baptism.  I was skeptical.  Another fad.  But I was also interested.  I had already done many different weight management programs at various points of my life and wasn’t sold on going to weekly weight watchers meetings with 3 children in tow. What she was working with promised a daily 30 minute workout at home, combined with a nutrition plan that was totally spelled out. Seemed do-able.

Having recently become a stay-at-home mom, the other thing I didn’t want to do was haphazardly get into some expensive plan or gym that didn’t end up panning out and was a waste of our single-income dollars. So whatever I decided to do, I knew it was important to be reasonable about it and also dedicate myself.  I was ready to check out the 21 day fix that my SIL told me about and do my best to make it work for me and my busy life.

I went back and forth and did lots of research on the Shakeology portion of the nutrition plan.  In the end, it seemed worth it to me to go “all in” at least on a trial basis.  I’m thankful that I did, because in the end, it was a huge plus in my life. The meal-replacement shakes streamline some meal prep for me, gave me tons of energy within the first week, and helped me kick the KitKats for good…

 

A little over 1 month into my fitness journey, I was already feeling like a different person - willingly taking photos to document my progress.

And that, my Blog-o-sphere-friends, is where I started.  And I didn’t get where I was going overnight or even in the first 21 days. But I got there. I learned so much along the way.  But I’ll tell you more about all that followed in my next couple of posts. Oh yeah! #leavethemwantingmore ;-)