As of June 22, I have been on my healthy life track for 3 months. Honestly, I am shocked and very proud of myself for sticking with it like I have. With everything else in my life, when things got tough or I didn’t receive immediate gratification, I would just blow it off and slip back into my old habits. And while the changes aren’t as dramatic as I had imagined, I’m pretty proud of how far I’ve come. My expectations were set pretty high, and I guess I was imagining myself in a whole new rock hard bod at this point. But life is not a hydroxycut commercial. In real life, your before and after may be a little more subtle and take more time. The toughest battle for me has been the constant self-comparison to Mitch’s progress. We both started dieting March 22, he for his body building show in August and me because, well, if you can’t beat ’em join ’em. His progress is astounding. A weight loss of over 30lbs, hardly any body fat, cardio improvement. His body is a 10! And then here’s little ol’ me–womp, womp. But I’m not going to belittle my success. Mitch has always been an athlete who was able to modify his body quickly. He wrestled through high school and college and has been body building for years. He has “muscle memory,” so when it’s time for him to pump it up before a show, his body is like “Oh I remember this! Let’s bring those muscles back! We’ve missed them!” Whereas me on the other hand, I did nothing but drink competitively through college. My idea of working out was taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Muscle memory my ass. My body says, “Muscle??? What’s this muscle you speak of?? Where’s the vodka?! We miss vodka!” So it has been a struggle.
With all that being said, I am so proud of my progress to date. My arms have actual definition! I am improving in weight each week. The biggest thing is that I go to the gym 5 days a week without fail. I now feel bad if I DON’T go, and I don’t hate it! I am still holding all my weight in my midsection, (thanks mom, for that awesome gene.) but after seeing my photos side by side, I can really see a difference. And this is the first time I’ve ever posted full photos of myself in a swimsuit in a public setting, so please be kind. I am so excited to see how things are come September 22!
STATS:
March 22, 2014 June 22, 2014
Height: 6’0″ 6’0″
Weight: 161 lbs 148 lbs
Chest: 36″ 33.5″
Waist: 32.5″ 29.5″
Hips: 38.5″ 37.5″
Thighs: 22″ 21″
BMI: 21.8 20.1
Body Fat Percentage: 27.6% 22.7%
So there you have it. I am most impressed with my body fat percentage. When I first bought my caliper, I was shocked at how high my body fat was. Dropping that number by 5% has been a better indicator than the scale of what kind of shape I’m in. My goal is to lose 10 more lbs of fat and lower my body fat to 17%. I am going to stop taking so many cheats now that vacation is behind me and really go hard on my diet. My diet plans are pretty good right now. I’ve started eating carbs again, but they are strategically placed and only come from ancient grains and fruit. I aim to take in 150g of protein a day, but usually fall short of that goal. As long as I break 100g I’m happy.
DIET:
Meal 1: 6oz Egg whites, 1 whole egg, 1/2c of plain oats, coffee with almond milk and stevia
Meal 2: Protein shake (1 scoop vanilla whey, 1/2C berries, spinach, 2 tbsp PB2, 1/4 avocado, 1/2C liquid egg whites, 1/2C almond milk)
Meal 3: 1C fruit (melons or berries) and 4 oz lean protein
Meal 4: 1 serving of quinoa, 4 oz lean protein
Meal 5: 1-2C greens (spinach or broccoli), 4 oz lean protein
Snacks: 1 daily (piece of fruit, coconut milk ice cream, 2 tbsp peanut butter, Luna bar, dark chocolate…)
EXERCISE:
Monday: Legs + 200 ab exercise and 30 mins HIIT cardio
Tuesday: Back and rear delts + 200 ab exercise and 30 mins HIIT cardio
Wednesday: Chest and biceps + 200 ab exercise and 30 mins HIIT cardio
Thursday: Glutes + 200 ab exercise and 30 mins HIIT cardio
Friday: Shoulders and triceps + 200 ab exercise and 30 mins HIIT cardio
Saturday: 1 hour steady state cardio
Sunday: REST!!!
*Please remember that I am not a physician or anything close to one. I am not encouraging anyone to follow this because if you hurt yourself I would feel hella bad.*
Appalachian Barbie 