Category: Operation Find My Abs

Dance Phase 1 Week 3

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This is the first week I have actually missed one workout. I will be making it up either today or tomorrow, before the new week rolls over but my daughter was sick all day yesterday and was sleeping on the couch when it was time to workout yesterday so I didn’t want to wake her up.

I did hit my calories 100% this week. It feels super good when I can do this and I am so glad that since starting this phase, I have been 100%. It’s hard. I do crave things but 2020 is the year of #noexcuses and I am keeping my integrity.

This week I am down 1 pound. I am super happy with this number, especially with waking up super early 2 mornings in a row with a sick kid and sleeping in a chair last night to make sure she didn’t need anything. Let me just say, there is definitely some neck pain this morning!

I am super excited to be going into next week, praying that I don’t catch whatever she had, and let’s get this!

Dance Phase 1 Week 2

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After another successful week of hitting my macros, I was super excited to see a drop in weight on the scale. I still have a ways to go to hit my pre-holiday weight but, every bit helps. Every week that the scale goes down is progress.

My reset day last week was our one time a month that we eat out. We had gift cards to Cheesecake Factory so I definitely went over my calories for that day but, it was only the one cheat meal and we only eat out like that once a month.

I am definitely enjoying the dance workouts! Last week’s bonus kicked my butt, I was sore for days after, we’ll see how today’s workout does.

Overall, it was a successful week and I am proud of the progress I made. I love the Transform app, I love that they are constantly improving and making the app better for everyone! And these Dance workouts are so fun!

Weight lost this week 2.2 pounds!

Dance Phase 1 week 1

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First full week of this year and first full week of the new Transform App dance program done.

It was a little hard at the beginning of the week being back to calorie restriction after 2 weeks of eating whatever I wanted. However, I know that eating everything in sight is going to get me back to 253 pretty quick and that is not somewhere I want to ever see again.

I am going to hit my goal in 2020 and there is nothing stopping me but myself and I am tired of getting in my own way.

Sometimes we are our own worst obstacle.

This year I have decided to change up my reset days to only a single reset meal. I have been an everyday weigher for a while now, not obsessed with the scale, I just like to see the fluctuations. Because of this I could see that taking an entire day to eat whatever I wanted usually resulted in me gaining quite a bit and then the rest of the week I was chasing losing that weight again.

Towards the end of 2019 I tested how much I would gain if I stuck to 1 meal and it was only 1-2 pounds which was usually dropped again by Monday. So this year we are sticking with this strategy and we will see how it goes.

It’s a new year. Everyone has a goal to lose weight this year. Let’s make 2020 the year you finally stick to your New Years resolution.

This week I was able to lose 5 pounds. I know next week will probably not be as much but I am super happy with this number for week 1 back on track!

Beginning Dance Phase 1

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First weigh in after the holidays and a week long vacation was humbling. Realistically, I know a good portion of the weight gain is bloat, and being that time of month the bloating is worst, but it is still always discouraging.

I know that week after week I will continue to lose weight as long as I can stay in a caloric deficit. The big thing is making sure I stay there.

The Transform 90 day challenge starts on January 6th and I cannot wait to see what happens over the 90 days.

My goals for January are pretty simple.

1. Hit my calories every day INCLUDING RESET DAY

2. Get at least 5 workouts a week

3. Drink at least a gallon of water a day

These are all things I have been able to do consistently in the past but I will be taking the new year to get back on track. All the holiday bloat should fall off quickly and then it will be time to continue hitting my goals so I can finally get to my goal weight.

Happy New Year! What are your goals for January?

New Year, New Goals

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Welcome to a new year! I cannot believe it’s 2020 now!

As we finished out 2019 with Christmas and New Years I took the time to enjoy my time with family. I stuck to eating healthy up until the weekend before Christmas, then it was time to prep all the goodies for the holidays. We left the day after Christmas to spend a week in Missouri with my husbands family. We enjoyed the time we had, focused on memories over macros and then came home. Our house is lacking in groceries so the plan is to get back on plan Sunday with Transform’s 90 day challenge.

I am super excited to start the new dance program on Monday. My body is super ready for some healthy groceries so I can eat some veggies!

I have not weighed in yet but I have no doubt that I gained weight over the holidays, I am looking a little fluffy.

Hubby and I started setting goals in September, if we hit the goals we got $50 spending money, don’t hat your goals, no spending money. It was a nice incentive to do what we need to do to hit our goals.

My goals for January will be to hit my calories every day, and get back into 5 workouts and at last 3 walks a week. These are things I have maintained for most of my fitness journey and I have no doubt I will be able to get it done!

I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas and New Years! What are your goals for January?

Holiday’s Approaching

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As we enter this time of year, just before Thanksgiving, it’s important to remember how far you have come. Since starting my weight loss journey, this will be my 4th Holiday season. 4 years of approaches to the holidays. Some years, I gave myself the week off, some years I gave myself the day off, and some years I gave myself the meal off.

I always go into the holidays with a plan. I do my best to stick to that plan. I weigh myself on my normal days, just so I have a record of that number for afterwards. And I do not beat myself up if my plans don’t go according to…plan.

My family has some amazing cooks. There is always good food. And depending on what our plans for the holiday were, sometimes I would be away from my house for the entire day or just for that particular meal. A lot of times my plan revolved around whether or not I wanted to have to bring all of my macro friendly meals with me or if I wanted to just eat what everyone else was eating (Memories over Macros).

Here’s a few tips that have helped me:

1. What your plan is doesn’t really matter, just make one. Make one that you have the best chance of sticking to. If you go into the day with an unrealistic plan, you will not be able to stick to it.

2. Don’t beat yourself up if you can’t stick to the plan. Life happens. Get over it.

3. Stay on track leading up to and immediately after the holiday.

4. You can do this!

My plans for this year are pretty simple. I am going to stay on plan while I’m at home in the morning, enjoy my Thanksgiving meal with my family, and get back on track on Friday.

I will not be skipping my normal reset day. Saturday’s are our normal reset days and we enjoy the change-up from our normal weekly meal plan.

I weighed myself this morning, and I will weigh myself on Thanksgiving morning which I will use as my official weight for the week. I will also weigh again Saturday so I can have an official 7 day weight tracker for the following week.

I know that my weight will be up next Saturday following Thanksgiving. That’s life. Fluctuations happen. Don’t focus too much on that number after Thanksgiving, it’s just to give yourself a data point for the following week.

I will stay on track with my workouts. I will get in my Transform workout Thursday morning before we have a bunch of stuff going on. I will not use the holiday as my excuse to take the day off.

The most important thing, focus on that progress you have made before the holidays. You have made a ton of progress this year, one day will not derail all of that for you. You got this!

Getting Sick Is Never Fun

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Just last week I had decided that this week I was going to get back on track. I was going to start filling in all the workouts I have missed during this Cross Training phase. I was going to get back at it.

I got my workout done Monday and then Tuesday I came down with something, I was also running errands all day Tuesday and by the time workout time came, I was running a low grade fever. I have spent most of the week recovering from that.

It always seems to work that way, you make great plans to get back on track with your workouts, but life happens. Life sometimes throws a wrench in things. However, in all of this, I have stayed on track the best I can with my nutrition. We have had my brother-in-law in town so we have had a few extra dinners out, but the rest of the time I have been staying on track with my nutrition. Other than my steady diet of cold medicine and cough drops.

After 4 years at this “healthy” thing, I have figured out a few key things.

1. No one is perfect 100% of the time, if they say otherwise, they are lying.

2. Life happens, enjoy it and get back on track when you can.

3. Give yourself a little grace when you do fall off track.

You only get one body, treat it the best you can while enjoying the special moments of life. Am I to my goal weight yet? No! But, I have managed to keep 80 pounds off for over 2 years, and that is a HUGE accomplishment in my book! I’m not gonna lie, for the last couple of years my New Years resolution has been to get to my goal weight. I may not be there but I am way better than I was 5 years ago. I keep getting back up and dusting myself off. I keep setting goals. I keep moving forward. I do not let myself wallow in poor nutrition or exercise choices.

Whatever you have going on, you are just one meal away from being back on track. We are one week into November, I know the holidays are coming up, my plans are the same as they were this week, stay on track, enjoy time with family and friends, and then get back on track right afterwards. I might gain a little, I might lose a little, I might eat an extra piece of that super amazing pie, but I will keep moving forward.

Cross Training Level 4 Week 4.1

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We had a great weekend visiting family. Saturday we went canoeing down the river which meant rowing for 4-5 hours! I ended up super sunburnt and my entire back hurt to touch anything so, took a week off from app workouts, I will pick up next week! I did not count macros at all while gone but jumped right back on once we were back. I also made sure not to be stuffing my face the entire day, which is what I usually do. I planned 2 snacks for each day and brought them with me and enjoyed meals with the family. I ended the week overall with a gain but, considering my weight when I got back into town, I did not do too bad!

Weight gain/bloat remaining: 4 pounds

End of Cross Training Phase 3

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Another cross training phase bites the dust! Top photos from the beginning of phase 3. Middle photos from the beginning of the August 28 day challenge. And bottom photos from today. I gained 1.4 this week, but considering it is was my birthday week and it’s all bloat, I’m okay with it. I will be taking a week of slingshot or maintenance, whatever you want to call it, before jumping back in to reach my goals!

This phase down .6

28 day challenge down 2 pounds