April 2018, I realized how bad I was feeling. After taking this bathroom selfie, I made a conscious effort to refocus some attention on my overall physical health. The three main reasons?:
- Hudsyn isn’t getting smaller. If I want to be able to lift her; carry her; etc in the future, I needed to start building some upper body strength. She’s nearly 60lbs and in the 97th percentile for her height (not a shocker, given Dan & I are both tall). It breaks my heart that it’s starting to get difficult to hold her by myself.
- I wasn’t fat by society’s standards…but I was very overweight for MY body. I’d always been thin and tall. Yeah, I know, skinny girl whining…I realize the genetic lottery is real. I’m 6′ tall and I can hide my weight easily as a result. In high school, I was the same height and didn’t hit 100 lbs until I was a Sophomore. In college, I stuck around 120-130 lbs. Before kids, I was a healthy and muscular 135-140lbs. Now, after having my “third” baby (a successful financial planning business), I’d been unable to shake the 186 lbs I weighed as of April last year. This was mainly due to poor eating, “no time” to get my heart rate up each week and lots of wine and/or vodka sodas (my two favorite besties when it came time for happy hour and winding down each night). To top it off, I’m 40…and the weight doesn’t slide off as easily as it used to. When I was in my 20s and 30s, I could focus on a workout plan for a month or two and get exactly the results I was wanting. Not the case, now (damn you, aging body)!
- My energy level was at an all-time low. I “felt” fat. It didn’t matter how much sleep I got, I was lethargic all the time. Clothes also weren’t fitting right and with the stress I took on each day in caring for my family, working 80+ hours each week, and making time for everyone but myself, I had lost control of my health. Not having energy to keep up with my family, business and all the goals I wanted to achieve became extremely frustrating.
So what did I do to change? A few simple things:
I Found a Fitness Program That Worked For Me
First, this isn’t a sales pitch. This isn’t about what I think YOU should do to improve this area of your life. Everyone is different in what motivates them and then what your body responds to when it comes to building physical strength or endurance. I’m only sharing what I’ve done as many of you have been curious from the posts I’ve made on Facebook and Instagram. I’ve tried a few different things in the past when it comes to this area of my life: running/walking apps, personal trainers, monthly at-home meal plans and expensive gym memberships. For whatever reason, these things worked for short periods of time and then I’d become bored (or frustrated with the cost) and decide to try something else.
I was an athlete in high school and college. I played competitive basketball, volleyball, ran cross country and was even on swim teams each summer. As I got older, I realized a few things: 1) Fitness had to be fun…and it had to stay interesting. If it didn’t feel like a game or a competition, I would quit after a few weeks. 2) Nutrition had to become a focal point…and something I felt I could tackle given the time constraints of my busy week.
I Needed Accountability
Most of us need some type of accountability to be driven to higher success. Sometimes, that’s in the form of competition, other times it’s just having someone nearby to keep cheering you on during difficult times. That person, for me, is my sister, Ashley. Coincidentally, when I was thinking about a new fitness program last spring, I had expressed this to her one day and I was so relieved to hear she had wanted to do something about her body as well. I KNEW we would be successful because growing up we always competed. Not just against each other, but when going for a goal, Ashley was always my biggest cheerleader. This is also why she works full time with me now, supporting our clients and overall business growth. She’s incredible at her job.
We started our new fitness journey by creating a plan at the beginning of each week (this became Sundays for us). We decided what workouts we were going to do; what meals were we going to eat; and how we would accomplish the plan if our calendars didn’t align. We decided my basement fitness room (a converted bedroom) would be the place we would meet each morning and we signed up for a monthly membership to Beach Body On Demand through a friend of ours, Erin Sandgren, who has her own success story after seven years of working out with BOD.com. We would put my laptop on the weight bench and follow whomever was on the screen in a 30-60 minute workout.
We started with “Clean Week,” where we committed to just one week of better nutrition and working out 30 minutes a day. We were both over 185lbs at that time and waking up at 6:00am each morning was incredibly hard. Neither of us are particularly pleasant in the mornings. But we did it. From there, we moved on to a nutrition plan called 2B Mindset. Then we decided to step up our workouts. We signed up for the infamous 80 Day Obsession by Autumn Calabrese. THIS was our turning point. After 80 days of intense crossfit-style workouts, six days a week, by October 2018 we were looking (and feeling) so much better!
After completing this challenge (which felt incredible to do together), we posted our results on social media. Ashley is now a BeachBody coach – so if you’re looking for a program to try, I’d highly recommend talking to her. Again, not a sales pitch, but if you want to try what we did, message her. She’ll help you get your membership and become your accountability partner if you need your own cheerleader. I could not have done this without her and Erin’s support the entire way. There were days I needed a high five and other days I just needed someone to say – it’s ok to take a break today, but you’ll be showing up tomorrow to get back at it! I remember one evening that was particularly challenging in the area of wanting to eat a slice of pizza because the rest of the family was having that for dinner. I went to Facebook to message her, and she had just posted her solution to vegan pizza which included a gluten-free crust! Whhhhaaat?! Sold! It saved my calorie intake that night and the tough craving was solved. Now, THAT’s a support system, ladies.
Meal Prepping Became Key
During 80 Day Obsession, I didn’t focus too much on calorie counting or timed nutrition. I just wanted to see if I could get up SIX days a week and complete the workouts. However, I knew if I wanted to elevate my results even further, I had to dial in on the nutrition. Honestly, I was dreading this new addition to my routine. It felt so difficult to think about meal prepping because it isn’t my strength. Many of you have probably heard on Dan’s YouTube channel that I CANNOT cook. I’m terrible…I can literally burn water. When Dan & I first met, I used my JennAir stove for storage. Not joking. Now you know why my mother told me I had to marry someone who was an amazing cook…and I did. Dan does all the grocery shopping, cooking and meal planning for the family. But he isn’t too keen on counting or measuring…he just makes it taste incredible.
Ashley and I began a nutrition program called “Fixate.” This is also Autumn’s custom created plan that uses containers for carbs, protein, veggies, fruits, fats and oils each day. Depending on your weight, you pick a calorie range to stick within and then meal prepping becomes a formula. As a financial advisor (and math nerd), I LOVE formulas & systems. I am so thankful for BOD.com’s blog…this particular weekly meal prep is one of my favorites because it requires almost no cooking and provides the grocery list you need! It’s very little thinking or energy to put together. Dan, of course, helped me when I was lost…like how many cups are in 6 ounces or why do I have to add this much paprika to cottage cheese? He also assisted when we had to get creative about using leftovers before going to the grocery store again. The man is genius in the kitchen.
I also decided to invest in some inexpensive containers (above) on Amazon that I LOVE. These babies made meal prepping (and storing them in the frig) so much easier. I used to be the person that would complain that healthy eating was expensive…which is absolutely false. I proved myself wrong that eating healthy is costly. I ran the numbers, and I’ve successfully prepped 20-26 meals a week on as little as $2-$4/meal. You can’t get that price eating out anywhere for the level of nutrition in these preps. Score!
Tip: I shop for foods at places like Price Chopper, Aldi’s and Walmart. I do NOT go to Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s or Dillon’s. These chains tend to be much higher in price despite the relatively comparable benefits they offer customers.
Results
I’ve completed over 225 workouts on Beachbodyondemand.com over the past year, which means I average about 4-5 workouts each and every week. Even when I’m traveling, I find time to plug the laptop in and get a 30-40 minute cardio session done in my hotel room. My results have been extremely encouraging. But, I couldn’t have achieved them without my accountability & support system. There’s a lot more room for growth and I’m not where I want to be just yet…but I know I’m on the right path and have finally found a sustainable, healthy lifestyle that will work for me.
My energy level is so much higher. I’m also sleeping better and more deeply each night (which I’ve tracked using a sleep app called SleepWatch). As a result, I’m able to do more…like writing this blog each week, volunteering at Children’s Mercy and meal prepping! I hadn’t realized how unhealthy I had allowed my body to get. I never want to go back to that place now that I know this new level of living.
I hope your journey to become a better version of you is also something you’re interested in trying. Or, if you’re just at a place where the brain space isn’t there yet to make it a priority (which I also understand), then bookmark this for later when you are ready. There’s a much more energetic, happier YOU waiting.
Make it a great day, Hopesters!
