21 Day Fix: Round 2 Complete!

So I finished round two of 21 Day Fix nutrition. I did pretty well most of the time, not much in the way of cheat meals, etc, but on Saturday and Sunday I didn't use my containers. We had a crazy time, very traumatic with the death of my daughter's guinea pig. My meals were spread out way too far. But I still tried to estimate what I was eating, and even though I had some diet soda and chose to use my carbs Saturday for a frozen yogurt, I didn't do too badly. I'm pretty sure I stayed in my calorie range even though I had less veggies than I should have over the weekend. And with the exception of my son's birthday a week ago today and the overindulgence of chocolate cake, I'm fairly certain I stayed within calorie range all three weeks.

Anyway, if you've been following my journey I ended the first round of three weeks with 190. Then I went back up two pounds the next day, and it was another week or after until I saw 190 more regularly. I've been doing PiYo instead of the Fix workouts, and I'm really loving it! I decided not to take pictures until next Monday since PiYo is a two month schedule and you take pics every month. But I did measure today, and lost another half inch around my waist, one and a half inches off my chest, and about a half inch on my hips. My body is much tighter and stronger. I'm two workouts behind due to a couple of things, so I'll try to make them up this week if I can. I'm still tired and could use another rest day, so today will be only one workout.

I woke up this morning to this:

Considering the gaining muscle and losing some inches, I'm really happy with a one and a half pound loss on the scale. Feels like the snowball has started going down the hill and is slowly gaining momentum! I am aiming to reach my goal of 150, but the number doesn't matter. Whatever number leaves me healthy and fit is what number I want to be! 

I'm still going to use Fix containers, but I don't know that I'll actually do full rounds of three weeks since I'm following PiYo. I'll probably just do the Fix program for food during the rest of my PiYo schedule. 

So, that's where I am right now! I love how my life has changed in six weeks. Losing inches and gaining health. I'm excited to be starting another weekly workout program with the women at church, using my AFAA certification for the reason I got it. 

Next Monday I'm taking pictures to celebrate one month of PiYo! I can already tell there's going to be a good-sized difference! 

Solid Proof (Pun Intended) that Muscle is Indeed Denser than Fat

I've been measuring every now and then, and I still haven't lost much in inches in these last 5 1/2 weeks. That's why I'm taking pictures, because my body is a rebel--it doesn't want to follow the "rules" of weight loss. I'm losing fat in places I don't measure, and though I can see big changes, I'm still only between 6-7 pounds down on the scale at this point.This is why I look for NSVs, or Non-Scale Victories, because that helps keep me going and chases discouragement away most days. So, on that note--

You GUYS. I'm so excited today! Monday I shared about a dress I could wear that I never could before. Well, I have another victory to share today. I got into a couple bags of clothes I'd almost given away because I'd put on weight and thought I'd never get back into them. In April of last year, just before my husband lost his job, I was losing weight and bought some clothes from a friend. Among these clothes was a dress that was really tight around my midsection at the time, but it was cute, so I bought it anyway and figured I could wear a jacket over it. 

At the time I purchased it I was right at my lowest weight. I weighed 5-6 pounds less than I do right now. Yet I could barely squeeze into it, had to hold my breath to even get it zipped. Fast forward to today and this picture I took in my bathroom. (Sorry for the selfies, but that's really all I can do right now.) 

IT FITS! And I can breathe in it both standing up and sitting down! And I can wear a shirt underneath it without that extra bit of fabric cutting off my circulation! 

So, see? You can't rely on just the scale or the measurements. And muscle does not weigh more than fat (a pound is a pound no matter what you're measuring), but muscle is more dense. It takes up less space than fat.  This is kind of gross-looking (it's fake, by the way), but it illustrates what's going on inside your body when you are doing strength training. 

So if you're feeling like the process of getting fit will take forever, or the scale isn't moving, or the measuring tape doesn't seem to reflect the changes you're feeling in your body, hang in there! Embrace every positive change, and document them! Because when you're having a bad day, you can look back and see how far you've come. Then that gives you courage and the confidence to push through another workout, to choose another healthy meal. 

Thanks for sharing in my NSV today. I'd love to hear about any you are experiencing!

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!