21 Day Fix Results!

I had been hearing from a few friends about this new Beachbody program called 21 Day Fix for awhile before I decided to try it. I was in the process of finishing Insanity again when my Beachbody coach, Tara, approached me about doing 21 Day Fix with her and a few other people in a Challenge Group. After weighing the pros (weight loss, toning up, learning to eat better) versus the cons (price, mainly), I decided it was an investment in my health that I was more than willing to make.

Now, you may be wondering what 21 Day Fix is. Simply put, it's "Simple Fitness. Simple Eating. Fast Results. Now there's an easy-to-follow nutrition and fitness program that makes learning eating and portion control for weight loss simple. 21 Day Fix takes all the guesswork out of weight loss. There's no counting, no guessing, and no wondering. Just easy-to-follow portion control of clean, whole foods and one 30-minute workout per day." When I heard the part about not having to count calories or weight my food, I was in. I hated logging my food every day and being worried about going over my calorie limit. With 21 Day Fix, that wasn't an issue. As long as what I wanted to eat was on the list that corresponded with the container I was filling, and the food fit in the container, I could eat it! I was a little hesitant about the whole "portion controlled" aspect, but once I started planning out my meals, I realized I had A LOT of food to each every day! There ended up being days where I was shoving cottage cheese down my throat as I was getting ready for bed just so I could meet my quota for the day! So. Much. Food. Not complaining in the least, though!

The 30-minute workouts were also a huge selling point. I could start working out at 9 p.m. after the kids went to bed and by 9:30 I was done. I loved that idea! Insanity was fun, but I wasn't a big fan of working out for almost an hour at 9 p.m., sometimes later. I also liked the idea of starting to use Shakeology. I'd heard great things about how much it helps curb cravings and how amazingly healthy it is, so I decided to just go for it and give the whole thing a shot.

So, on March 17th, we started our 21 Day Fix journey. Day one was exciting and I had no real problems avoiding things like sweets and coffee with sugar. Day two was a bit harder. The temptation to eat the cookies and gobs my grandma made was strong, but I stuck it out and turned them down. Day three was the hardest. However, I knew it was hard because my body was detoxing from all of the artificial sugars that I'd been consuming on a regular basis before, and I was essentially going through withdrawal. Day three was a dark day in my world, but as the days went by, it gradually got easier and easier to pass up things like chocolate chips and ice cream. I realized that I felt SO good about myself when I fought temptation and didn't cave. Each time I refused to cave, I got a little bit stronger and I slowly got to where I would briefly think about eating something unhealthy, then immediately dismiss the thought. The temptation was no longer there. By the end of the first week, I'd lost 3 pounds! Seeing those kind of immediate results were enough motivation to keep me going. It also helped having the challenge group to fall back on. I could go to them and post about feeling weak and having those cravings, and they would encourage me to stay strong and let me know that I wasn't alone in my dark little corner of "I-Need-Chocolate-Or-I'll-Die"ville. Knowing there were others struggling with me gave me the push I needed to walk away from the temptations. Having a whole group of people to hold me accountable turned out to be the whole reason I stuck with it the way that I did. Knowing I wouldn't just be letting myself down, but letting them down too was a huge motivator!

The nice part was, if the temptation was just too great and I HAD to have something sweet, the food plan allowed for that (within reason). It's specifically written into the plan that you can substitute one carb (yellow container) for a treat like chocolate chips or a glass of wine, and that can be done up to three times a week! So when I was feeling like I wouldn't survive without chocolate, I just rewrote my meal plan for the day and gave up my half bagel with peanut butter snack and had a small serving of mini dark chocolate chips instead. I felt satisfied that I got to have a treat, but not guilty or like I was somehow "cheating".

Shakeology quickly became my newest addiction. I honestly feel like I wouldn't know how to function without having it for breakfast every morning now. I did have to go a few days without it toward the end of the month, as I used the last of my month's supply on the day my new supply was shipped, so there were a few days' overlap. Those days I felt miserable. Just...awful. I was moody and tired and STARVING. I had next to no willpower when it came to food. Everything was fair game. Coming home to see that green box sitting on my kitchen table easily ranks as one of the greatest days of my life. Not really. I'm mostly kidding. Mostly. The best part of the Shakeology is all the different recipes I can make with it! I've made everything from pina colada, to strawberry shortcake, to salted caramel mocha, all in my blender! The salted caramel is probably my all-time favorite, with "Thin Mint" coming in a close second.

By the end of the 21 days, I felt amazing. I *feel* amazing. I've essentially cut out all processed foods and artificial sugars. My diet consists of mainly vegetables (salads) and proteins (chicken, venison, turkey) with some fruits and very few carbs mixed in. I have SO much more energy now, and my mood has improved considerably. I still have moments where I'm irritable and impatient, but I'm overall a much happier person than I was before (and I'm sure Doug and the kids are glad for that!).

So now onto the numbers portion of our program, because I'm sure you're curious what my final results were:

Beginning weight: 136
Ending weight: 127,
Total loss: -9 pounds

Beginning chest(bust) measurement: 34 inches
Ending: 32 in.
Total loss: -2 in.

Beginning waist (at narrowest point): 30 in.
Ending: 27 in.
Total loss: -3 in.

Beginning abdomen (just below navel): 37 in
Ending: 34 in
Total loss: -3 in

Beginning hips (where top of underwear sits): 38 in (I like big butts and I cannot lie...)
Ending: 35.5
Total loss: -2.5 in

Beginning thighs (right and left): 22 in.
Ending: 21 in
Total loss: -1 in

Beginning arms (biceps, unflexed): 12 in
Ending: 11 in
Total loss: -1 in

Total inches lost: 12.5!!

Now, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, right? Well, here's my proof:

I apologize for the strange coloring. This is an Instagram screenshot, so it's a little off. But, you can see for yourself, that this program really is effective. And it's SO. EASY. I literally felt like the weight and inches were just melting off with next to no effort. The workouts were challenging enough to keep me interested, but didn't make me so sore I couldn't walk the next day. Pilates turned out to be my absolute favorite, so it was nice having that to look forward to each week. Leg Day made me curse the gods and Autumn Calabrese, and Plyo Fix was pleasantly reminiscent of my beloved Insanity. I actually looked forward to working out because I really enjoyed the routines!

Overall, I can't say enough good things about 21 Day Fix. The really great part about it is, now that I'm a Beachbody coach, I can provide you with links to purchasing your very own 21 Day Fix! I honestly LOVE sharing this program with anyone who'll listen. I'll rave about it as long as they'll let me. So, if you think you're up to the challenge, click HERE to fill out an interest form and get started!

60 Days Later: Insanity Results!

7-23-2013

I can officially say I have completed Insanity! For anyone who ever doubted the validity of those before and after pictures you see on the advertisements, I present to you my own before and after. I’ll be honest, before we started this program I was skeptical of all those pictures. Surely they were just put on the commercials to make the program look good, right? They were probably photo-shopped or something, right?

Wrong.

If those people really put the work into it, then those results are 100% possible. As for myself, I’m thrilled with the outcome. Do I still have a few areas I’d like to work on? Sure, I’m always a work in progress, but this was just the beginning. Did I make one hell of a head start? You’re damn right, I did!

Now for the logistics.

Total weight lost: roughly 4 pounds. I’ve been holding steady at 130.

Total inches lost:

Thighs – about half an inch. I can feel significantly more muscle there, so I know it went from flab to muscle with little to no circumference lost.

Waist – just over 2 inches

Hips – about an inch overall

So, not huge, out of this world numbers. However, I’m not disappointed in the least! The pictures speak for themselves here. The numbers can only show so much change. The pictures and physically seeing and feeling the difference is where it really counts. If this is the kind of change I can see in only 60 days, I can only imagine what Asylum is going to do!! For now, I’ll be taking a few days off then jumping back into Day 1 of Insanity until Asylum gets here. I’m officially lost without my daily dose of Shaun T. At this point, he’s my best good friend who I’ve gotten used to seeing on a regular basis. My best good friend who kicks my ass every chance he gets and somehow I still love him for it.

The best part? Not that I can wear clothes that I haven’t been able to wear since before Ryleigh was born, although that’s certainly a plus. The best part is being able to pat myself on the back and say I stuck with it. Did I have days when I was kind of sick of it? Sure, but they were few and far between. This whole process has shown me that I have what it takes to stick to something like this and not give up because it got hard or I got tired. Now, to be honest we did skip a few days here and there and we didn’t follow the nutrition plan, but honestly with the results I got out of it, I’m not going to nit-pick at the few slip ups we had. I love being able to look at those “after” pictures and go, “Wow…did that body really give birth to two giant babies?” That’s pretty awesome, I’ll admit. Yes, there’s still some loose skin that needs to be dealt with, but that takes time and I’m giving it all the time it needs. After all, I did have two rather large babies. The loose skin and stretch marks are part of their stories. The marks are fading and the skin is slowly tightening back up, but I’m more than willing to accept that it may never get back to my old flat stomach.

All in all, I can’t say enough good things about Insanity. It’s hard as hell but it’s so worth all the of sweat, pain, and frustration. Next up is Asylum, so stay tuned for when we start that! 

Almost Done! (Insanity)

This is our last week of Insanity! We've made it through almost two full months of the hardest exercise I've ever done in my life and, surprisingly, it's gone much faster than I expected it to. The one thing I look forward to most is doing my before and after picture. I can see a huge difference in my stomach, so I'm curious to see just how much of a difference there is. I know from doing the occasional comparison picture of my abs that there's quite a bit of definition there that wasn't before, but I'm curious to see what the head-to-toe pictures reveal.

The funny this is, when we first started Insanity I was sure I was going to hate it and have to force myself to get through it. I've actually come to enjoy it. The biggest hurdle is motivating myself to actually just do it, but it's not that I don't want to do it. I just have other things I would rather do. So it's a challenge to just make myself work out, not to make myself do Insanity if that makes sense. Once I'm actually in the middle of the workouts, I'm usually enjoying myself. It's hard work, obviously, but I enjoy it. Last night was Max Cardio Conditioning again and I'll be honest and say that was the first time I've ever actually thought, "Okay, I'm done for the night." But the second I turned it off, I felt this overwhelming sense of disappointment with myself. Now, please keep in mind that it was 87 degrees in our living room with the AC on, so it was like working out in a sauna. I'm going to go on record and say that was 100% of the reason I almost quit. My heart rate was through the roof 98% of the time and my temperature felt like it was hovering somewhere around 400. I knew it wasn't healthy to really push myself in those kind of conditions. But, there were only 17 minutes left out of a total of 47 minutes. If I'd made it that far, I might as well just finish it. I got angry with myself for even considering quitting, turned it back on, and rocked the hell out of those 17 minutes. Then I had so much of an endorphin high that I went right into Cardio Abs. I didn't do the warm-up for that, mostly because I was having problems getting my legs to move the way they were supposed to. I tried to do it, but my quads were completely dead and I couldn't lift them even to jog so I gave myself a break before getting into the ab routine. By the end of that, I was dead, drenched in sweat and pretty damn proud of myself.

Today, my upper abs are sore and the rest of my body is just tired. I've been focusing on packing in the protein as much as I can because I know my muscles are probably starving for it, along with water. I've discovered my new favorite breakfast - Bear Naked Granola Morning Power Packs. There's 8g of protein in one tiny bag which is perfect and it tastes amazing! My plan is to start adding it to some Greek yogurt in the mornings for some added protein and to change the taste up a bit to keep it interesting. As far as water goes, so far today I've gotten about 51 oz down. I know the general rule is half your weight in ounces each day, which would put me at roughly 65 oz, but with as much as Insanity makes me sweat I try to get at least 100 oz in to replace some of the fluids I lose with all that sweat. That's a good thing, though! I don't regret the sweating. I'm all for it. That's all the toxins and crap seeping out of my pores and leaving my body so I'm 100% down with that. But it's important to replace the fluids lost otherwise I'll get dehydrated and start to backslide. No bueno.

So, as of Sunday we will officially be finished! Sunday is the final fit test and after that, we'll be able to say we did the whole thing. Granted, Doug's done it before in the past, but I'm looking forward to being able to say I've done Insanity from beginning to end. And you better believe I'll have a shirt to prove it!!

And I Thought "Pure Cardio" Was Bad...

6-28-2013

**Started this one yesterday (Thursday). MCC was done Wednesday night**

Then I met Max Cardio Conditioning, which is basically what happens with Pure Cardio gets picked on as a child and grows up to be a very angry adult with a vendetta and a plan for swift, brutal revenge. Whoever picked on Pure Cardio, effffff you. I'm fairly certain that falling off of a cliff would be more appealing than surviving another round of Max Cardio. I say "surviving" because my brain kicked into survival mode around the 20 minute mark. After that, it took a lot of convincing to make myself keep going. I took breaks. Lots and lots of breaks. At one point I intentionally sat out an entire move just so I could have a full minute-ish to breathe. I may have stumbled upon the perfect mixture for making myself less sore the next day though, because today I'm not all that sore. When we finished the workout, I mixed one scoop of Muscle Milk Cookies 'n' Creme protein powder with about 12 ounces of coconut milk (yum!) then took a hot bath with about four pounds of Epsom Salts.

That's an exaggeration.

It was more like 2 pounds.

....that's not an exaggeration.

Either way, my glutes aren't sore today, aside from when I'm getting up from my chair. Considering how sore I was yesterday and add in the fact that Max Cardio legitimately kicked my ass, I should be sore today as well, but I'm not. My upper back is still tight and slightly sore, but nothing like it was yesterday. Pecs, shoulders, and under my armpits (which, through some research, I've learned is called the Serratus anterior muscle!) are still sore, but I expected that. I didn't soak my whole body in the bath, just my legs up to my waist. So my upper body is understandably sore.

Warm up.

Alright so, same format as usual. Three sets for a total of ten minutes. The first two sets were comprised of the typical Max warm-up routine.

Jog. Jumping Jacks with straight arms. Jump Rope S-S. High Knees with arms extended. Switch Kicks. Hit the Floor. S-S Floor Hops. Repeat once.

My quads and the muscles just above my knees are still having none of those Floor Hops. It's not my knees themselves, it's the actual muscle around the top of my knee that just burns for a few seconds and then completely gives up (that could be my brain telling it to give up because it hurts. Shut up, brain!). But I did more of them than I did either of the other days I've done them, so there's some progress. I'm not certain if it's physical or mental progress, but progress is progress so I'll take it.

The third set reverts back to the warm up from month one at your highest intensity level. Each move is performed for 30 seconds which was an ideal length of time because I could go as close to all out as I dared and not get burnt out too quickly.
Sprint.
Jumping Jacks- normal, swinging arms.
Heismans - I miss doing these!
123 Heismans.
High Knees - I rocked these! 30 seconds is usually my burn out limit with High Knees so it was perfect. I had taken it somewhat easy during the rest of the warm up because I knew the actual workout was going to be intense, so I didn't want to give my all warming up then die 10 minutes into working out. But that stored energy gave me the boost I needed to get through the full 30 seconds of High Knees. I hated these at first but now they're one of my favorites!

After the warm up is the first of only three water breaks. You read that correctly. I said "three water breaks." That means once the workout starts there are no breaks, no stopping, no rest until the end of the workout. Then you can have another water break. As per usual, the water break is followed by 5 minutes of stretching and the second water break.

Then the madness begins.

High Low Jab with Squat: go into a squat, throw a side jab low, then leap up, and throw another one high.

Football Runs: hands out before you, mini-sprinting on tip toes, drop to a push up, then back up to sprint. These suck. Big time. I'm not quick enough (yet) to do them at the same pace, which should be understandable but it frustrates me. However, practice is the only way to get better at them so, here's to doing them better next time.

B Ball Shots with Squat: from a squat, leap up to shoot a basketball 4 times, then hop turn around while maintaining squat to repeat. I didn't do too shabby with these, but I'm going to venture a guess that it was due to my having done next to none of the Football Runs, essentially giving myself almost a full minute break. 

Right and Left Kicks: straight forward front kicks to hip height.


Diamond Jumps: these are brutal! Leap up high, hands over head, and tuck feet in under your butt. I'm not coordinated enough for these, so I spent a lot of time studying the form and talking myself into at least trying them. That worked all of maybe four or five times.

In-Out Push Up Jacks: these are rough-4 in-outs were you hike your knees in, and then 4 push-up jacks where you do push-ups with legs kicked out wide. 

Suicide Jumps: from a push-up, jump your knees under your chest, then leap up and grab sky. I tried these, I really did, but by this point I was dying. 


High Knee/Low Sprints/Floor Sprints: simple yet brutal: eight high knees, then eight sprints, then eight floor sprints. These I rocked. Something about High Knees pumps me up. Maybe because they remind me of how far I've come. I love pulling my knees as high as I can. Even the low sprints were kind of fun. Dropping into the floor sprints sucked but once I got those out of the way I popped back up for the High Knees. I didn't do them the full amount of time, but I gave 110% on the ones I did do.

Ski Abs: from a push-up position, jump your knees up one side, back, and then up the other. I think this is when profanities started swirling around my head, the most popular being "Are you fucking kidding me right now?" Ski Abs aren't horrible. Ski Abs after already being tortured just plain suck.


*Kick Step Back: front kick, then step back, and reach down to the touch the ground. These are supposed to be a "recovery" move designed to keep your body moving but not at such a high intensity level as the previous moves. I modified them to be "Sitting on the floor watching Doug do them while I gasped for air and tried not to die". I liked my version better.


*Squat Twists: Bounce feet together, standing straight, then fall into a squat and touch opposite hand to foot. Another recovery move. Not horrible after taking a pretty decent break.

*Over the River Hops: side to side hop, bringing one foot behind the other, arms swinging across the body and up to perpendicular. Third recovery move. These actually made my calves burn more than anything.

Attack: side stance, hop down to squat, push palm forward twice, jump up and switch sides.

Power Knees: Old news by this point. Side lunge, bring knee up into hands.


Ski Down Hooks: feet together, hop from side to side, throwing a hook across your chest as you bounce down on each hop. This was another one I sat out. No thanks.


Belt Kicks: hands planted as if grabbing a belt buckle, side step down into a squat, and come up with a kick, and then back. 


Forward Back Suicides: reach for sky, then shuffle back and touch the ground, then reach for sky and shuffle back forward.


Push Up Abs: push-up position, go down, bring one knee up to elbow at a time. These I ended up modifying and didn't do the push-up portion. I just did the knees to the elbow part.


Plank Punches: from a plank position, throw punches with alternating arms straight ahead.


8 Jump Ropes/8 Hop Squats: jump high eight times, and whip an imaginary rope under your feet, and then fall into squat position and do eight mini hops. I tried these and did more of the hop squats than I did the jumps.

Squat Speed Bag: final one! Hold a deep squat, and rotate your hands before you as if punching a boxing speed bag. I. Rocked. This. Only because I'd read a summary of the workout so I knew this was the last one so I gave everything I had. I still had to stand up a few times because my quads were literally ripping to shreds at this point, but I still stuck with it and was doing the move when the timer was finished!

Final water break and stretch and you're done! I laid on the floor in front of a fan for a bit because I didn't have the energy to get up, but I did it! I stuck with it and finished day three of the second month of Insanity. I honestly can't wait to see how all of this changes my body. If the first month did the crazy things that it did (hello, abs!) I'm really anxious to see what upping the intensity will do! Just a few short weeks to go and my patience and hard work will be rewarded :)

Plyo Still Isn't My Favorite (Insanity)

6-26-2013

When I saw "Plyo" on last night's workout schedule, I got a little nervous, particularly since it's a 55 minute long routine.The plyometric routine in month one wasn't my favorite, to put it mildly. Besides that, I had gotten significantly more sore as the day progressed. I sat down on the couch with Liam as he went to sleep, and when I got up to put him in his crib I was extremely stiff and sore in my glutes and upper back between my shoulder blades. I was fully expecting last night's workout to be a horror show.

It started out with the same warm up routine as Monday, and by the end of the third set I was feeling much looser and not nearly as sore. The stretch was a little rougher than day one, but it felt good to get those sore muscles stretched out. In the back of my mind, I knew that not being sore when we were working out was going to mean I'd be even more sore today because that would allow me to push as much as I could with no pain to hold me back, but I didn't really acknowledge that thought. Not until I got out of bed this morning. My glutes and quads are significantly more sore today than they were yesterday. Going from sitting in my desk chair to standing is the worst, but it's manageable. My upper back between my shoulder blades is tight and sore, but that's relieved if I stretch my arms out in front of me and lower my head between my elbows and really pull to stretch that area out. My sides under my armpits and my pecs are a little sore, but nothing too painful. My core still feels tight but isn't sore, which is fine because last night's routine wasn't really a core-focused routine. As defined by Wikipedia "Plyometrics, also known as "jump training" or "plyos", are exercises based around having muscles exert maximum force in as short a time as possible, with the goal of increasing both speed and power. This training focuses on learning to move from a muscle extension to a contraction in a rapid or "explosive" way, for example with specialized repeated jumping." Roughly translated, it's going to suck. It's all about training your muscles to be, not just fast, but insanely powerful in their speed. That's just peachy.

After the warm up, you know the routine. Water break. Stretch. Collect yourself for the torture about to ensue.

"Max Interval Circuit" Sounds Easy, Right? (Insanity)

6-26-2013

**I started typing this yesterday and didn't get a chance to finish it. Instead of going through and changing all the "todays" to "yesterdays", I'm just leaving it the way it is with the understanding that it's written from yesterday's perspective**

Alright so, last night was day one of month two of Insanity for Doug and myself. First off, let's talk about how sore I am today. Surprisingly, not bad. My glutes seemed to get the most work, as they're the most sore along with my lower back. Considering the amount of time I spent on the floor curled up in Child's Pose, I'll take any soreness I have today as a good sign. That means I got a good workout even if I wasn't actively participating in every second from beginning to end.

Now, I'm sure you're familiar with the fact that Month Two is legendary for being brutal and making Month One look like a walk in the park. Everything you've heard is true. The exercises are more intense, the workout itself is significantly longer, and the warm-up leaves you sweating just as much as a full workout did in the first month (the sweating part could be attributed to the fact that it was almost 90 in our living room, even with AC and a fan running, but I digress). That being said, it's not impossible. It's as much a mental challenge as it is a physical one. When you're curled up on the floor gasping for breath and begging your heart rate to slow down, it's easy to get to a point where you're thinking, "Now would be a perfectly acceptable time to turn it off. I've done enough for today." That's where the mental strength comes in. You have to know you're going to finish the entire workout. You might be clinging to life and flying by the seat of your pants at the end of it, but you have to know you'll stick it out to the end. If you don't go into it with that kind of determination, you're setting yourself up for either failure or a very difficult, very trying hour. I'll be honest, there wasn't a time where I really wanted to quit. I was more curious to see what else the workout had in store. I'm sure as I get used to doing this one, I'll get to where I'm sick of it and want to quit but that will really be out of nothing more than boredom. I got to a similar place with the routines in month one, so I'm looking forward to the change of pace month two will provide.

As far as the physical aspect of it, it was rough but I can't say I hated it. The biggest hurdle for me was that big 59 minute marker on the timer. I was a bit apprehensive and a lot nervous, but I'd be lying if I said some part of me wasn't looking forward to it. I was smiling when we started. I'm fairly certain I might be crazy because what kind of person, other than a crazy one, actually laughs when Shaun T says something like "I'm here to kick your butt. I'm not playin'." I loved the challenge! The new exercises threw me off enough that I had to focus on keeping my form and I could feel muscles being worked in a way they hadn't been worked last month. My core feels tight today, but not sore, which is encouraging. One move in particular is supposed to target the core and with it being toward the end of the workout, I was pretty burnt out and wasn't pushing as hard as I could have been then. The tightness I'm feeling means my core didn't get an easy ride like I was concerned it was getting.

Progress Report: One Month Down, One Month to Go! (Insanity)

6-21-2013

To say I'm happy with my results so far would be an understatement. I'm ecstatic and this is before I've even attempted the second month, which I hear it brutal. But I've come to expect nothing less from Shaun T. I ended up taking about two weeks off due to laziness (I'm not going to sugar coat it and make excuses. It was laziness, end of story) so I'm currently rounding up the tail end of the recovery week. Next Monday starts month two and I'm pumped! So far I've lost almost two inches from the largest part of my waist, an inch from each thigh, almost three inches below my bra, and about an inch from my hips. I can tell my core is being tightened up immensely and that's awesome because that's what I desperately needed to work on. If I could stay the way I am now, I'd be happy but I'm definitely looking forward to the changes month two will bring. As far as weight, I haven't lost any but I've managed to maintain a solid 134 (give or take a few tenths here and there) for the last few weeks which is fantastic. I used to bounce back and forth between 138 and 130 like it was my job. Now I'm sticking to the middle and I'm more than okay with that. My goal isn't to lose weight so much as it is to tone up and be happy with how I look. The scale doesn't always reflect the massive changes my body goes through, as shown by the pictures. In the first one, I weighed 135. The one on the far right was taken today and this morning the scale read 134.2. So not a huge change as far as the scale goes, but definitely a HUGE change as far as appearance goes. There's even a noticeable change from the second picture to the last. My upper abs are even more defined and my lower abs are flatter. Hell, my pants are even looser in the last picture. It's the same pair of pants but they fit significantly lower than they used to. The hems are getting pretty roughed up because I'm constantly walking on them now that my pants won't stay up. My endurance is crazy now compared to how it used to be. Before, I loathed jogging. Loathed it. I had no endurance so jogging was difficult and running was a joke. Wednesday after work I jogged a full quarter mile at the track, jogged another almost quarter mile after power walking for a few minutes, and then sprinted about an eighth of a mile. Sprinted. I'll let that sink in for a minute. I sprinted after jogging half a mile. All this when before I couldn't jog even an eighth of a mile without feeling like my lungs were going to collapse and my heart was going to explode. The best part was that I loved it! It was really fun! Sure, it sucked a little bit, but it's fun moving that fast! Had it not been so hot, I likely would have been tempted to see just how far I could go, but I wasn't pushing too far in the heat.

For only being roughly a month in, I'm ecstatic. I love knowing that I'm working my ass off for real results. I love being able to physically see my hard work pay off, and it's so exciting to think about how much more it's going to change as I tackle month two!