Phase Two: Week 2

So it's Sunday and the end of week 2, which means it's time for a weigh in and picture update.

October 5th when I weighed in I was 229lbs. Today I weighed in at 231lbs. Granted that is a gain of two pounds, but I was expecting at least a gain of 5 pounds so that is a win.

Here are the comparison shots: (I don't really see a whole lot of difference but then again it's only been two weeks)

Working out this week didn't really happen like it should have and I only made it to the actual gym twice this week because of job interviewing stuff and a charity event, but I did walk the dog quite a bit this week to get some kind of movement in since I didn't make it to the gym as often as I'd like. 

Good news this week though on the lifting front for leg day. I think I have figured out why I was getting so sore...doing intense cardio after. We skipped it this week and there was no major leg soreness. This makes me both happy and sad because I have figured out why it was happening but I use to do cardio all the time after leg day and now what 4-5 weeks later I can't. What's up with that? I think I am just going to try to build it back in see how it goes. 

I also think that my food plan is changing for the next two weeks and I am doing more of a cutting diet, but I am still waiting to find out exactly what will be on the menu from by brother so hopefully I can update the new two week food plan tomorrow. 

Phase Two: Week 1

Well not much to report from week one. 

The new diet has me feeling really bloated, and I am not sure what exactly is the cause but I have a feeling it might be the black beans. 

Workout wise leg day kicked my ass and left me sore for about 4ish days which is an improvement from the last leg day but still odd that I am left that sore for so many days afterwards. 

All of my other lifting days have been going well. It's odd not doing an hour of cardio every workout or doing a second workout a day. I have a feeling the lack of cardio is going to hurt me weight wise but my brother did say that I would probably gain 5ish pounds my first two weeks but to stick with it as it will pay off, so I am trying not to worry too much about it. 

Next Sunday is weigh-in/measurement/picture day and lets just say I am not looking forward to it because I know I am going to see set backs, but I have to remember that they are just numbers and there is a reason for it.

Phase Two Starting Weight and Measurements

I haven't weighed in and measured since August 17th and going off of the program for about a month I knew that when I stepped on the scale and measured today I would see a definite increase in numbers but I was hoping it wouldn't be that detrimental to my weight loss goals.

Here are my measurements from August 17th:

Weight: 224 lbs              

Chest: 44 1/2"

Biceps: 14 1/2"

Waist: 37"
Stomach (around the belly button) 40"

Hips: 44"

Thighs: 26 1/2"

Calves: 17 1/2"

These are my measurements from today:

Weight: 229 lbs              

Chest: 46 1/2"

Biceps: 14 1/2"

Waist: 38 3/4"
Stomach (around the belly button) 43"

Hips: 44 3/4"

Thighs: 27 1/2"

Calves: 17 1/2"

Here are my photos from August 17th:

   

Here are my photos from today:

So in about two months I have gained 5 pounds and 8 1/4 inches. Needless to say that I am disappointed in the gain, but the minor set back just makes me even more motivated to start this next phase and to keep myself on track as I now can see just how easy it is to undo all the hard work that did. 

Phase Two-Get Fit Challenge: Game Plan

So technically I'm not supposed to to another cut for six months buuuutttt I discussed it with my trainer aka my brother and he's agreed to let me to continue with the program. However for this next 14 week phase things are going to be a little bit different not only in training but also in eating. 

Here is the Meal Plan for the next two weeks:

MEAL #1

6 Egg Whites

1 Cup Malt-o-Meal

2 Rice Cakes

MEAL #2

6 oz Lean Meat

2 Cups of Veggies

MEAL #3

6 oz Lean Meat

1 Cup Legumes 

1.5 Cups of Veggies

MEAL #4

6 oz Lean Meat

2 Cups of Veggies

MEAL #5

1 Scoop of Protein

1 Banana

MEAL #6

6 Egg Whites

1 Cup Legumes

My new Training Schedule consists of 6 days of weight training and three days of cardio with one of the days of cardio being my off day from weight training. Cardio wise however I will be starting over from the beginning of the program with 30 minutes per session for the next two weeks with a 5 minute increase every two weeks until I reach an hour per session again. Another change will be that I will not be doing two-a-days this phase. 

I have been warned that I will more than likely gain up to 5 pounds my first two weeks as my body adjusts to not only the addition of carbs but also the increase in food and decrease in exercise with the loss of a workout a day and less cardio to start with. Hopefully I can keep this in mind when this does happen and remind myself that it is part of the program and there is a reason for the gain. 

Tomorrow morning I will be weighing in, taking measurements, and pictures. Every two weeks I will be taking photos that will be submitted to my brother for evaluation and possible alteration to my program.  I will do monthly weigh ins, measurements and photos that will be posted here to track my progress.

So there your have it Phase Two...wish me luck I am at this point pretty excited to get started.

Wedding Madness and New Goals

Well kids it's been awhile since I posted any updates so hopefully this one makes up for it. 

I am not sure if I mentioned this in any of my first posts but right before I started this program I went wedding dress shopping. I was at my heaviest and definitely dreading the whole trying on dresses experience. Thankfully the staff at the bridal salon I went to (Hope's Bridal) was so amazing and had plenty for me to try on and really made me feel comfortable. It only took 5 dresses before I found "the one." I was the first person to try this dress on and it was a brand new designer to the US from Australia. I kid you not when I say that this dress fit me like a glove. Even the owner came up and looked at it and said, "It is like it was made just for you." Now if that is not a sign I don't know what is. The other great part is that I would have been happy wearing that dress even if I didn't lose any weight and that was a very been thing to me since I didn't know how successful this program would be.

I had my mom take a picture of me in the dress so we could use it as another way of seeing progress since you do in fact try on the dress multiple times before it's finished. 

So this was at the end of April:

If you've been following from the beginning you will remember that I spent my first month of the program down in Missouri with my brother and his fiance to help me through and give me that extra support and at the end of that month I had lost 11 pounds and 12 inches. Shortly after arriving back in Iowa I went back to the bridal salon to try the dress on again to see if there would be an issue with alterations. 

This is a picture from the beginning of June:

I was amazed at how big the dress was on me. I actually had to have someone hold the dress together in this picture because it just kind of hung on me and it was laced up tight. Needless to say you could say I was really happy with my progress.

Fast forward to end of August and my first official fitting for alterations. At this point I knew that I had to stop with the major weight loss because once the dress is altered it get's expensive and time consuming to continue to alter it. At this point though I was down 36 pounds and 32 inches (took 4 months) and pretty pleased with that. 

Here are pictures from that day:

At this point I could really see and feel a difference in the dress but it wasn't until Shelby (my brother's fiance) sent me this picture that I put it all together and had that wow moment.

So there we have it. The wedding of course was amazing and Blair and I had a great time. I am still in awe of how many people came from all over the world to celebrate with us we are truly blessed with a great group of friends and family. 

What's next you might be asking? Well after my hiatus from the program I am gearing up to jump back into things on Monday. 

My new goal is to lose 45 pounds by January 18. That's a goal of a loss of 3 pounds a week for the next 15 weeks. It's going to be tough but it's going to be so worth it. If I do reach my goal I will be at 179 pounds just in time for our trip to New Zealand. I don't promise that the posts will be pretty these next few months but hopefully they will be amusing and maybe  even inspiring. LET'S DO THIS!!

Day 132-138 Get Fit Challenge...Oh the PAIN!

Monday

Morning lifting did not go well today. Being leg day it's never going to be an easy day, but something went really wrong today and I'm not really sure how. Leg day always starts with squats and since they were getting to be a bit easy it was time to step it up so I added five pounds to each side...no big deal right? Well apparently I was wrong. I got through my 4 sets no problem, but then halfway through my superset of leg press and buddha squats my legs started to get a bit shaky. I just figured it was because of it being Monday and the start of the week so I pushed through and finished the superset and moved on to the next superset which I struggled through as well. Leg day finishes with 100 walking lunges. However my legs were shaking so bad I couldn't even attempt to do one as my knees were ready to give out so I decided to skip it and just do my hour of cardio. 

That night when mom and I went in to do the HIT workout I was really feeling the morning leg work out but I got through it and another 30 minutes of cardio hoping that it would help stretch things out and I wouldn't be so sore tomorrow.

Tuesday

I woke up so sore that it took me a good 2-3 minutes to physically get myself out of bed. I have not been this sore since my first week of working out on this program. I spent the day between sitting in the hot tub, stretching, and trying to get comfortable. 

Wednesday

I did not sleep well last night as my legs were just so sore I couldn't get comfortable. The majority of the day was spent in the hot tub and stretching to try to be able to move more like a normal person instead of a 100 year old in need of new knees. However this was not good enough for my mother so that night we went to the gym and lifted and I walked on the treadmill for 40 minutes. While chest day was fine to get through as my upper body was not sore, walking on the treadmill killed me. 

Thursday

Did not sleep well again tonight because of sore legs and I woke up to them not feeling any better. More stretching and hot tub time during the day then went to the gym this evening for back day with mom. I ended up doing an hour on the bike with no resistance which felt pretty good. For good measure I sat in the hot tub when we got home to hopefully speed things along as I am really just done with all of the leg pain.

Friday

Finally today the legs are feeling a bit better I guess the bike was the ticket to help getting them stretched out. Not wanting to push my luck any I did not do a morning workout and instead went to the gym in the evening with mom for bicep and tricep day but we only got 30 minutes of cardio in because the gym closes at 8pm on Fridays.  I am hoping that tomorrow my legs feel really good because I have the trial for wedding hair and makeup and really don't want to feel uncomfortable while having to sit for both of those so fingers crossed for more improvement.

Saturday

I can finally move around today like a semi normal person, and while my legs are still sore it feels more like a normal sore than an oh-my-god-i-think-i-broke-my-body kind of sore. No workout today as the whole day was spend running around doing wedding stuff. 

Sunday

My legs are finally feeling normal though they still hurt when they are grabbed, bumped, or smacked but I can walk without cringing so that's a win. Spent most of the day running errands in town with Blair but we did take Max on a walk around the lake to get some cardio in for the day since it was so nice outside.

Days 125-131 Get Fit Challenge...Minor Set Backs

This week was a bit rough and pretty busy. As there are only about 3 weeks left until the wedding there have been more and more things to run around and take care of and with Blair being gone all week it's been kind of hard to fit in everything that he needs to be a part of. Needless to say the working out has suffered this week. 

Monday and Tuesday I did HIT in the morning as mom has decided she wants to start lifting again at night. 

Wednesday I lifted in the morning as I had a hair appointment that night. 

Thursday Aunt Flo thought it would be a good day to visit and I was so miserable I didn't workout in the morning. That night I went to the nail salon for a trial for the wedding day since I never get my nails done as they chip after the first day. 

Friday Blair had the day off so we ran around all day trying to get some errands done like the wedding license, a hair cut for him, and a bit of clothes shopping before we went to Des Moines to pick my brother up from the airport. Saturday we drove to Illinois for a wedding of a family friend. They had the perfect day for a wedding and it was very nice to catch up with everyone even though it felt like I was attending a preview of our upcoming wedding as a lot of the music and decor was exactly what we are doing. It kind of stressed me out because then I started to think well maybe we should change all of these things but at this point there just isn't the time. 

Sunday we got back home around 9pm and with all of the non-diet food I ate over the weekend I was not feeling well. I felt sluggish and really fat and maybe a little bit of that is hormones but mostly I think it was the food. This makes me really nervous for how my life will need to adapt after the intense diet is over and I go back to working and having to work around a schedule again. Hopefully I can figure it all out without going backwards.