21 Day Fix: Round One Results!

In the words of Niecy Nash, "It's Reveal Day! Uh!" (If you don't know who that is, watch a few early episodes of Clean House. You'll thank me.)

I did Beachbody's 21 Day Fix for 21 days. I followed the nutrition plan pretty closely overall. I am not doing Shakeology (their meal replacement shake). The first few days I had an extra serving of protein or vegetables, because I was so hungry. Then a cheat day on the 4th, but other than that I was pretty careful.

The first week I was up 2 pounds for a few days because of muscle soreness. I ended the week with a 2.5 lb loss. 

The second week I went down a calorie level because I was only 18 calories above that level, and most advice when you're that close is to go down a level. That week was my monthly hormonal week, so I didn't expect a loss during that week, but by the end of the week I should have been less once my body's water levels balanced again. I was actually up a pound.

So I added up the calories of the food I was eating, and realized that I was barely hitting the bottom of my target level, which I think was slowing my loss. If you eat too few calories your body can go in starvation mode, where it hangs on to the fat for emergency purposes. So I bumped back up to the next level and started losing again. 

My results aren't huge, but they're noticeable. First of all, I went from 196.6 to 190.4 pounds for a loss of 6.2 pounds. That averages out to 2 pounds per week, which is a healthy rate to lose weight.

My results for these last 3 weeks might be considered not enough of a victory for some people. After all, lots of people lose a good deal of weight if they're close to 200 lbs. If they don't lose a lot of weight, they lose inches. However, I lost about 1 inch on my waist and 1 inch on my hips, but gained 1/4 inch on each arm. My chest and thighs stayed the same. My net inch loss is 1 1/2 total inches, not much. But as you will see in a moment, there is a difference in how I look. I know I gained a good deal of muscle. I was able to go up in weights to using 8 lb dumbbells for my heavy weights. I wore a dress over the weekend that I couldn't even zip up and breathe in a few weeks ago. So I'm losing fat, just not yet in many of those specific places I'm measuring. 

Do I wish I had bigger (ha, smaller) results? Sure? Am I depressed about it? No way! Changes are still happening inside my body. The focus is on getting healthy, and I'll show you why it's so important to not just rely on the scale or your tape measure, even! I'm pretty stoked about my results. They show improvement! 

Here's a list of the positive things I noticed happening over these last three weeks:

• Softer skin
• Increased strength 
• Dropped a dress size
• Felt blood sugars lowering
• Less squishy/jiggly back
• Calf definition came back
• Muscle definition in my thighs
• Increased arm muscle by a lot
• Firmer, smaller bum 

Negatives? Really none. I did pull a couple old injuries, but that's my fault for not listening to my body closely enough. I have more pain in my hip/back, but that is due to my physical challenges (read my fitness journey above to learn more about that), and I'm taking a few days of yoga and stretching to help that.

I love the flexibility of the program. I did all the workouts with the exception of two. The last week you have the option of doubling up on the workouts. I did an extra Pilates workout, but missed Cardio Fix on Friday because I felt like I was fighting an illness. I was exhausted to the bone, and I've learned that when I feel like that it's not smart to push through. I end up regretting it. So I rested instead, did Dirty 30 on Saturday, then danced for a couple of hours at a wedding reception. Yeah, I got my cardio in. The only other workout I missed was Yoga Fix for the last time, but I stretched out well in a friend's pool on Thursday, so not too bad.

Here are my before and after shots! I had to wear different shorts in the after, so please excuse the paint on them. :D

Not a huge difference yet, but I can totally feel that there's less in my midsection. 

So, what next? Well, I'm sticking with the Fix nutrition. I'm planning to start PiYo this week, and once I feel more stretched out I'll start another round of Fix workouts or just add some to PiYo. I am really excited about this program! I think once I get even more muscle that my fat levels will drop faster.

I'll take a new set of before pictures tonight or tomorrow to start the new round! If you're doing the Fix or you are on your own health journey, please share! There is power and strength in support!