Day 9

So I have completed my first week of the diet and workout plan.  Pretty good so far! I lost 7 pounds and 0.5% body fat!  Not bad!  I'm really enjoying my workouts and the food I'm making is delicious, filling, and healthy!

One of the hardest things for me to do is always keeping my abs engaged/contracted when I work out!  I'm really trying to focus on this the next few days and hopefully it becomes easier.

Stats:

Weight: 208

Body Fat%: 18.9

Day 2

Today was another good day.  Oddly, there was no workout for today.  My logic tells me with the little amount of calories I'm putting in this week, that my workouts are working hand in hand with my body adjusting to the calorie decline.

Again, 1200 calories today.  One thing that I've learned in just the first two days of this is how much we, or maybe just me, think about food.  I like to remind myself that I need to eat to live and not live to eat.  So much of our culture has brainwashed us to always gravitate towards food.  I am realizing that I don't need a ton to be able to survive and get by.  (I do realize that I can't go forever with 1200 calories/day, but it's the principle).

I forgot to take pictures of breakfast and lunch today, but here was dinner, it was tasty!

Grilled shrimp on mixed greens (lemon juice and salt and pepper) and quinoa with almond slivers.

Breakfast was 1/3 cup of cottage cheese, almond slivers, and 2 apricots.

Lunch was a pita with 3 oz of beef with mustard and lettuce. Sides of red peppers and cucumber!

Hope you all had productive days!!

Day 1

And we're off! The first week of my fitness plan has started! As far as the diet, this week I am eating 1200 calories a day for just the first seven days. It is a "jump-start" to get everything going. Coincidentally, the workouts aren't too bad yet. I burned 300 calories in my 30 minutes, which isn't horrible. I think it may coincide with the low-cal diet. The workouts are basic right now, but it's good to get the basics in before I move on to the hard stuff. I'm excited to get week 2 started as I'll be able to eat a bit more, but also have much challenging workouts. First, I must get through this week.

This morning I took before pictures and measured my stats. I'm debating when exactly to post the before pictures.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner were very tasty today, and the snacks weren't bad either!

Scrambled egg whites, feta cheese, chopped up tomatos all in a pita. And fresh melon!

Chicken Wrap with tomato and lettuce, celery, and red bell peppers 

Cod, steamed spinach, small baked potato, and Asparagus

STATS:

Weight: 215

Body Fat %: 19.4%

I also measured my chest, arms, waist, hips, and thighs. We'll see how this all goes!

Full Exposure

I am starting a whole new workout plan and diet. I've gotten to a point where I've hit a plateau, and actually gained some weight (fat and muscle). I've been working out and dieting consistently for over a year now and though I've changed some things throughout to keep things fresh, I've gotta start something new. Something completely different. And something that minimizes my mistakes and helps my discipline.

That's where the Les Mills Pump workout comes in. I made an investment into my health and fitness and am going all out. The workout has become famous in many gyms all over the world. They made it into a home DVD workout series, and I'm excited to get it started. They've provided me a workout calendar for 90+ days, and a whole diet plan for that time period. No joke, they have given me everything I need to eat and do for the next 90 days. And the food recipes look good!

So, by all out, I mean all out. I need to motivate myself like I never have before, so I'm thinking of posting before, during, and after pictures. AND maybe posting some video blogs along the way. What do y'all think?

To be honest, I am embarrassed of how I've let myself, my weight, and my health get to be the way it is. I know I can do this, I just gotta fight through it all. Because of that, I really want to put myself out there to motivate myself to a healthier me.

For those of you who would like to join me on this journey, feel free to stay tuned and follow my blog. This is a friendly and encouraging place for us all. I hope that opening up and exposing some of my weaknesses (both physically and mentally) will encourage others to do so wherever they see fit.

I plan on starting my 90-day plan on Sunday, as I spend the next day or two getting my grocery list together to start off my first week.

I AM EXCITED!