Saturday, April 26, 2014

Reaching a Fitness Milestone- 12 Week Challenge

Fitness Friday Saturday:

As I mentioned in this post, since the end of January I was doing a Healthy Living Challenge with a few friends. Basically we all put in 20 dollars, and then collected points over the span of 4 and then 8 weeks for doing healthy things and then at the end whoever had the most points gets all the money. After 12 weeks of monitoring my fruit and veggies, water, exercise, and "treats", I am happy to report that finished the challenge tied for 1st for points...yay money!!

Lets back up a bit though...
Last winter/spring I kind of fell off of the healthy food and fitness routine. Not too bad, but I decided that it wasn't the main priority in my life at that time. Then to get back on track I started my triathlon training and started counting calories. After a summer of intense exercise and seeing results I was so scared that I was going to fall off the wagon again. I didn't want to lose the fitness level I had developed, I wanted to keep going. So I continued going to the gym 3-4 times a week, and as usual tried to eat healthy 85% of the time (I stopped calorie counting and focused more on general healthy choices). Around August I started tracking my weight more regularly, and from August-January I was losing about 1lb a month.

 In January I was at my low "plateau weight" and needed some motivation to keep going (no upcoming runs/fitness challenges were scheduled), so the challenge was actually perfectly timed for me. And as much as I complained the whole time while doing it there were things I liked and will keep doing:


  • The challenge encouraged me to exercise more! I went from 4x a week to 6-7 times a week.  In fact for March, I did a little challenge within a challenge and moved every single day! My exercise routine now is 3x hot yoga, 1x intense Cardio, 1x Strength, 1x boot camp, 1x Active Rest (walk or bike ride).  It may seem a little intense, but I actually love working out this much, especially when it is outside!
Sweaty mess after a NTC workout

Recent bike ride views, much better than the gym!

  • A treat should be just that...a treat (vs a cheat...I don't like thinking that a dessert, or a glass of wine is a BAD thing, it is just something to be enjoyed in moderation). We have free cookies at work...everyday, and even though it is only 100 or so calories, I don't need it! I should save those 100 calories for something I really want...like Birthday PIE, or homemade brownies!
Scaramouch Pie...Best. Thing. Ever.  

All about the balance!
  • I feel better when I drink more water/eat more veggies. Tracking water was actually something I had started doing before the challenge, and I want to keep up with, and eating vegetables and fruit makes me full and healthy (even though people at work thing I am a BIG health freak with my daily carrot sticks and hummus!) 
All the waters, and all the veggies!

With the weight lost during the challenge I'm now at my lowest weight that I can remember (probably end of highschool/first year). Since the end of university I have lost 20lbs, and about 10% body fat. (WHOA). Since August alone I have lost 12 lbs, and 2-3% body fat. And its only been with the last five pounds lost on the challenge that I feel like my body "changed overnight". Suddenly all of my clothes are too big, and suddenly, I have muscles in places I didn't even think I could have muscles (whatt...I have muscular definition in  my stomach now???). 

And it is weird, people are noticing it! In just the past week quite a few people have commented on how much weight I have lost, as if it happened overnight. I read on-line that it takes 4 weeks for you to notice changes, 8 weeks for your family to notice, and 12 weeks for others to notice..and I guess that is right! 

Going out for my Birthday! Finally figured out the whole red lip trend!
And I don't want this to come across as braggy..but I'm posting these results because I am shocked by them too!  I haven't restricted my diet or my calories (in fact I wrote this post while eating tortilla chips and salsa), I'm not working out countless hours a day...I'm just trying to make small healthy choices most of the time! Getting down to this weight and being this healthy was not during a 100 day challenge, or some short term I want to lose x by y date challenge, or by doing some sort of crash diet (no cabbage soup for me!). It was just a decision I made to keep eating healthy and working out. I want to be healthy my whole life, not just during a challenge or training, and I think making that life long commitment to being healthy is what has actually allowed me to get to my healthiest (so far...I'm not stopping now..I still have a fitness bucket list that includes one day doing a pull up!)


And here is a obligatory before and after picture from me in 2011, about 10 lbs heavier than I am now (so about my same weight this past summer)! Once again...I am shocked of the change myself!....I keep thinking it is just the photo angles or something :).

2011
 


 


2014



Anyone else have success stories/work in progress stories? Anyone else now craving coconut cream pie???


1 comment:

  1. YEAH KAYLEE!!! I'm so pumped for you! You are looking great :) Looks like we should start having some head to head competition!

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