Sunday, August 2, 2015

21 Day Fix

Greetings! I can recognize that it has been awhile...4 years to be exact.  I guess I just needed some time to develop something to say.  I've finally found it, and it hasn't changed much from the things I wanted to say when I first started this blog.  What is hilarious is that one of my last posts on here was "before" pictures as I started to lose weight.  Ironic, right?

As I have many times in my life, I've recently begun a weight loss, fitness, and healthy eating journey.  This time is different.  I can feel it.  My friends Heather and Nicole introduced my new wife, Robin, and I to the Beachbody program a few months ago.  Heather suggested that we try out the 21 Day Fix program in order to jump start our progress.  A few months went by, we got married, spent 2 weeks in Italy on a honeymoon that incorporated lots of food and wine, and then we were ready.

Robin and I started the 21 Day Fix through Beachbody on July 6th and committed 21 days to get our nutrition and fitness right.  It sounds like a gimmick or fab diet at first glance, right?  I promise that we initially agreed, but we were both so desperate for a plan that we went for it.  There are two parts: food and exercise.

Food
The beauty of the food plan is that it is so simple.  Many people gave us a hard time for paying money for a program that is so easy to understand.  Beachbody hasn't come up with some magic potion for weight loss.  It is all about portion control and eating whole foods.  Here's the thing.  I knew all of these things, but I still didn't lose weight or follow any of it.  I would buy fruits and vegetables and they would go bad.  I just didn't have the will power or control to do it on my own.  I needed a plan, and for me it was worth spending money to gain access to the work someone else did to develop it.  The food plan has different colored containers that correspond to different food groups (vegetables, protein, fruit, carbs, healthy oils, seeds/nuts) that you get a certain amount of each day.  The plan also gives you a list of "approved" items that fit into each of these groups.  From this, you can develop recipes or use some from the Beachbody blog that tell you their container equivalents.

It involves a lot of prep (an hour or so on Sundays planning the week and prep/cooking each night), but I've found that I love it!  I feel so much more involved and in control of what I am putting in my body.  It is great!  Here are some pictures of meals we've eaten this month.  Many are pictures from my lovely wife (I have to make sure to give her credit).





Fitness
This is VERY simple.  You work out every single day for 21 days straight for 30 minutes a day.  Sounds extreme, right?  What's great is one day is yoga and one is pilates, so you get two "active recovery" days as our trainer, Autumn Calabrese, calls them.  It is a week that equals out to a complete full body workout: 2 days of straight cardio, 1 upper body, 1 lower body, 1 full-body strength/cardio, and 2 recovery days.  In the last week there is an option to do doubles which we did and phew, that killed us.  I mean that in the best way.

Results?
Before:
Weight: 161 lbs.,
Bust: 41 1/2 inches
Waist: 36 1/2 inches
Hips: 43 3/4 inches

After 21 Day Fix:
Weight: 153
Bust: 39 1/2 inches
Waist: 34 1/2 inches
Hips: 41 1/2 inches

Before and After Pictures:



What's next?  We're doing it again!  Robin and I took off 4 days off in which we still followed the food plan and a more relaxed version of the fitness program.  Today (Sunday) we feasted!  We ate at Brann's, had beer, and went to the movies which included soda, candy, and popcorn.  Phew! We're ready to get back to it tomorrow.  More results to come!

I'll leave you with this victorious picture from a week or so ago:

And this one that Robin created to show how much our faces have changed:

See you soon!

2 comments:

  1. So proud of you girls!!! Im happy you found something you love and can share with your wife! thats the best part :)

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  2. I can't wait to perfect my food pictures with a whole bunch of new recipes from "Fixate"! More to come, for sure!

    ReplyDelete