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.

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 82 Get Fit Challenge...Weigh In and Measurements (month 3)

So it is month 3 and technically by this point for any other person this would be their last weigh in and they would be finishing the program, but I am "special" and do not get to stop at this point. I have 5 more weeks until I have to put a hold on any major weight loss cause dress alterations take some time. Then it's back on until January. So these next 5 weeks are going to have to be a major push for me as I am not where I want to be at this point. 

Here are my measurements from June 22nd:

Weight: 239 lbs              

Chest: 46 1/2"

Biceps: 15"

Waist: 39"
Stomach (around the belly button) 43 1/4"

Hips: 46 1/2"

Thighs: 28 1/4"

Calves: 18"

Here are my measurements from today:

Weight: 231 lbs              

Chest: 45 1/2"

Biceps: 14 1/2"

Waist: 38"
Stomach (around the belly button) 43 1/4"

Hips: 45"

Thighs: 27 3/4"

Calves: 18"

So in about a month that is a loss of 8 pounds and 4 1/2 inches. Not as impressive as last weigh in which is disappointing especially with it being crunch time. So I definitely need to step it up for the next weigh in. 

Here are the pictures from June 22nd:
      

Here are the pictures from today:

Total so far though I have lost 29 pounds and 24 inches in three months. The new goal for the next weigh in is a loss of 15 pounds and 8 inches. Hopefully I'll be able to pull it off I'm really going to need to step things up. 

Day 79 Get Fit Challenge...closing in on 12 weeks

I am 5 days short of 12 weeks of being on this program. Originally one is only supposed to do this program for 12 weeks however, I am still miles away from my goal so it has been extended. At this point and taking into consideration I am taking September off from the program we are looking at this program lasting at least 19 more weeks or until the end of the year (basically 4 more months). Crap that's like 7 months of this program of two-a-days and no carbs and chicken all the freakin chicken!!!

As I look back at what I have accomplished so far it feels pretty good. Still as I reflect it is hard to not compare myself with others that have done this program before me and accomplished so much more. I am not seeing the transformation like they had, especially when I look at my mom's results.

At this point I really thought I would be a lot thinner. I have not kept up with goals that I had set for myself, which is disappointing to say the least. I have 45 days left until it gets to the point where I have to put a hold on losing weight because of the wedding. That is basically 5 weeks which is not enough time to be where I wanted loss wise. Even if I lost 3 pounds a week for the next 5 weeks that will only put me at 215 pounds (given that I lose 3 pounds this week). Granted that would be 45 pounds in 17 weeks, which when you stop and think about it is such a feat, but I was really hoping for more around the 60 pound mark at that point. 

With the wedding quickly approaching there is a lot of pressure to be this new thin person that is revealed and well that is not going to happen which feels like a major failure. I did not want to be a fat bride and that was a major driving factor in this endeavour, but sadly I will still be a fat bride which makes me really sad and angry. Hopefully this will only fuel me for the next 5 weeks and maybe by some miracle I can lose 5 pounds a week for the next 5 weeks and get a little closer to being at my target weight for the wedding. We shall see hopefully things don't back fire.

Day 55 Get Fit Challenge...Weigh In and Measurements (month 2-well close enough)

Ok so technically it hasn't been exactly two months yet but I was told to weigh and measure every two weeks now. So this morning before everything else I did just that. 

Here are the measurements from June 1st:

Weight: 249 lbs              

Chest: 46 1/2"

Biceps: 15 1/4"

Waist: 40 1/4"
Stomach (around the belly button) 47"

Hips: 47 3/4"

Thighs: 28 3/4"

Calves: 18 1/2"

Here are my measurements from today:

Weight: 239 lbs              

Chest: 46 1/2"

Biceps: 15"

Waist: 39"
Stomach (around the belly button) 43 1/4"

Hips: 46 1/2"

Thighs: 28 1/4"

Calves: 18"

Now if my math is correct that is a loss of 10 pounds and 7-3/4 inches in 21 days which is not bad. 

Here are the pictures from June 1st:

Here are the pictures from today:

Honestly I don't see a big difference or where the 7-3/4 inches came off of, but a loss is a loss even if you really don't notice it. I do wish it was a bit more as there is only 14 weeks until the wedding and I am still miles away from where I want to be. 

The good thing about weighing and measuring in the morning before everything is that when I went to the gym this morning I worked a lot harder. I think it's because I saw where I was and where I still need to get to and it's a bit of a motivational push. Hopefully that sticks with me for the next couple of weeks until my next weigh in and measurements. 

Day 13 Get Fit Challenge...I am so over food

You know how for most diets they make you restrict your eating....well not this one I am constantly eating and LOTS of food. It has now become a chore to eat a meal every six hours.

I used to get a little excited about eating now I am starting to hate it. Thank goodness tomorrow is the end of phase 1 and I can cut a whopping 200 calories from my diet a day. Granted that is like nothing but hey it's less than what I'm struggling to eat now so I'll take it. 

Tomorrow is weigh in day and frankly I am nervous. I am nervous to see how much I lost or worse yet how much I gained in my first two weeks. Nothing would be more depressing than to have put on weight after doing two a days for two weeks. Something needs to be smaller I can't have gains across the board it would be too depressing. Sad part is I just know I have gained because my clothes aren't fitting any better and I definitely feel fatter. I don't think my metabolism has kicked in yet so the 3200 calories that I am eating a day is just accumulating like flies on poop. 

Let's do some math here my 30 minutes of cardio add up to about 350 calories burned, my morning workout I have no idea but let's be generous and ballpark it at 400 calories, and lifting well crap let's say another 400. Ok that is a total of 1150 calories that I am burning a day which would be great if I wasn't eating my weight in food. I am still intaking 2050 calories a day. I have to burn an extra 500 calories per day to lose one pound in one week. Now without calculating how many calories I was eating per day before I started this the math kind of ends there as I don't know how fewer calories I am actually eating...let's just hope it's at least 500 per day. 

And now for a little positive reinforcement for tomorrow's weigh in courtesy of my brother's fiance:

Day 1 Get Fit Challenge....Why is there so much food?!

I have officially begun my new journey to fitness and a healthy lifestyle. So before I get into anything lets get down to brass tax and start with my beginning measurements.

Weight: 260 lbs              

Chest: 49 1/2"

Biceps: 15 1/4"

Waist: 43 3/4"

Hips: 49 1/2"

Thighs: 29 3/4"

Calves: 18 3/4"

My overall goals for the next 8 months are:

Weight: 160 lbs

Chest: 38"

Biceps: 12"

Waist: 29"

Hips: 39"

Thighs: 24"

Calves: 15"

For the next two weeks (phase 1) I am on a 3200 cal/day meal plan. This is how it breaks down:

Meal #1 eat at 7am

10 egg whites

3 servings of cream of rice

2 rice cakes

*because I am working out in the morning I am supplementing the eggs and cream of rice with an isopure shake that has a cup and a half of multigrain oats so I am not so full while I'm working out

Meal #2 eat at 10am

5 oz chicken breast

2 cups of jasmine rice

1 cup of vegetables

Meal #3 eat at 1pm

5 oz chicken breast

1.5 cups of jasmine rice

1 cup of vegetables

Meal #4 eat at 4pm

5 oz chicken breast

1/2 cup of jasmine rice

10 oz of sweet potato

1 cup vegetables

Meal # 5 eat at 7pm

5 oz chicken breast

1 cup fresh vegetables

8 oz sweet potato

1 cup jasmine rice

Meal #6 eat at 10pm

10 egg whites

3 servings of multigrain oats

1 rice cake

Also within this time frame I have to drink 1 gallon of water

It's A LOT of food and combined with all the water I am drinking I am definitely not hungry EVER...well not at this point anyway. Once my metabolism kicks in about 4 weeks I should be hungry every 3 hours if not before then. Which will be great because right now I feel like I have perma-bloat.

Now the hard part....The Workout. For now I am on two a days doing a HIT program in the morning combined with 15 minutes of cardio and weight training at night with another 15 minutes of cardio.

Here is what my HIT workout consists of:

Warm up with 2 mins on a stationary bike

1 set 30 seconds of alternate heavy rope training 

1 set 1 minute each of thrusters with 10lb bar

4 sets of tire flips timed for speed (5 flips)

1 set 30 seconds of straight heavy rope training

4 sets of shuffle sprints with 20lb medicine ball throw downs (end of wall to middle of wall)

4 sets 30 seconds each of overhead medicine ball throws with an 8lb ball

1 set 15 seconds of sweep heavy rope training

4 sets 45 seconds each of box step-ups with alternate knee crunches (lowest height)

3 sets 30 seconds of planks 

Rest for 30 seconds between sets
Rest for 1 minute between cycles

I went into my first workout this morning a little worried and with the hope that I wouldn't puke or cry during it and that I would be able to complete everything that was asked of me. It went better than expected and I didn't cry, puke, or fail at anything but man it was challenging about half way through I got a massive headache which made it a bit more difficult to push through the last couple of complexes. At the end of the session my legs felt like jello and my forearms were fatigued. Cardio was a breeze and a much welcomed rest after the HIT circuit.

This afternoon's workout consisted of weights focused on leg supersets, 4 sets of 12-15 reps finished out with another 15 minutes of cardio. If I am being honest I thought that the weight workout was more fatiguing than the morning circuit, but that could be because I got another massive headache halfway through....well that and all the squats and reverse lunges. Hopefully this headache thing is not a trend because man does that really make finishing sets difficult.

So yeah first day down feeling pretty good not too sore...hopefully that continues tomorrow.