Monday Motivation: My 6 Month Transformation

Different Body, Same Mint Green Phone Cover 😛  I do want to mention– Jan 2015 I WAS working out 5x/week.  There has been no change in my workout frequency.  It is true when they say fitness is 70% diet 30% exercise!!

Good Monday readers! I wanted to share with you my transformation–and no, the dates are completely accurate. I also want to share how I did this–no starving, no diet pills, & no cutting carbs. It doesn’t happen overnight, but you may see results quicker than you think!  Once you see results there’s no stopping you! I found this quote while on “Pinterest” :

“It takes 4 weeks for you to notice a difference in your body. 8 weeks for friends and family to notice a difference. And 12 weeks for everyone else”

 I like this quote because it has deemed itself to be pretty darn true.  I was amazed at the amount of random people at the gym that came up to me and said something like, “What you’ve done in the past few months is amazing!”  It was an incredible feeling knowing that random people I pass in the gym have noticed my journey. I love when my friends or my boyfriend compliments me—(and I’m sure they do mean it), but sometimes I feel like they are saying something because they have to.

These gym strangers that have come and said something to me didn’t have to.  It gave me intense motivation to continue on my journey.  Which takes me back to the start–my journey.  I want to share with you HOW I did what I did.  

• Drank a lot of water– In January I began my New Years Resolution to drink more water–and I’ve been holding true since.  I drink about a gallon of water every day.  Sometimes more, sometimes less.
• Logged my food– Yes, it is tedious, BUT the results do not lie.  I have been using http://www.myfitnesspal.com –there is a free app you can download for your phone — and it has been easier than I thought.  Once you make it the first week or two, it will become habit.  When I first began logging my food I was SHOCKED.  I had NO IDEA how many calories I was eating.  I ate very healthy most of the time, so I figured calorie counting was for the birds– as long as I wasn’t shoveling fast food cheeseburgers into my mouth the reason why I wasn’t seeing results COULD NOT have been my diet!  Oh, I was wrong. I was probably eating damn near over 3000 calories of healthy food–my portions were out of control and I ate entirely too often.  After tracking your food for a month you will be able to eyeball portion sizes and estimate caloric values– you can then continue on your weight loss/fitness journey without logging.  But, I recommend trying it for at least one month.
• Gave up the Paleo notion– Since beginning crossfit two plus years ago, this Paleo diet has been welded into my mind as being the “healthiest” diet and will make athletes shredded and ripped.  So, for TWO YEARS  I was on, what I call, “The Paleo Roller Coaster Diet.”  I would begin the Paleo diet, going strong for a couple months—then, I would binge eat everything I was restricted for a couple months—Back to Paleo Diet—-binge eat my feelings away—Paleo diet—Binge.  This is a vicious cycle of dieting when you have too many restrictions.   Even if I were to lose any weight I would gain it all back during the binge cycle.  DO NOT GET CAUGHT UP IN THE RESTRICTIVE DIET BINGE CYCLE.
  • For anyone that doesnt know what the paleo diet is, its a restrictive diet consuming of only natural ingredients: high in meats, vegetables, and some fruits.  Limiting nuts and seeds.  Absolutely grain and dairy free.  No rices, oats, beans, milk, YOU CANT EVEN HAVE PEANUT BUTTER. Tortuous.
• Clean eating- I replaced the Paleo Diet with a “Clean Eating” or bodybuilding type approach in January.  Oatmeal, fruits, lean meats, vegetables, cottage cheese, rice– yada yada.  I found out how many calories I needed each day and went from there.  I started with 1950 calories a day on my rest days and was able to “eat back” the calories I worked out on my workout days.
• Mixing in Isolation Exercises to my normal routine– I begin my fitness journey with crossfit.  It is an amazing sport to get your ass into shape.  Anyone can do it.  It incorporates weight lifting with cardiovascular endurance.  I saw amazing results.  I wasn’t able to perform a push-up when I first began, and how I am complete workouts with 200 push ups in the mix! You never do the same routine in a crossfit class so it’s fun, intriguing, and keeps you and your body guessing.  But, early in the year I had tendonitis of my elbow pretty bad, so I wasn’t able to do much except squat.  This led me to a “Globo Gym” AKA: LA Fitness.  I was able to work upper body without aggravating my elbow, lower body with more than just a squat– it was honestly just what I needed.  Now, I continue to do both.  I crossfit at least 3 days a week and I do isolation exercises 5-6 days a week.  It has not only helped me lean out and become for defined, but it has also helped in my crossfit classes.  I feel more stable and strong on lifts and my gymnastic work has improved! I call it a win-win 🙂

I am not here to brag. I am not here to boast. I am here to share with you my “secrets” and hopefully inspire and help you to gain similar results and successes. If I’ve inspired one person today, then I have done my job! 

I’ve posted this before, but this is my Before and After photo. Left is before finding crossfit(2011) . Right is present (May 2015), with weightlifting and crossfit