Your body is a furnace so fuel the fire

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     Today marked 6 weeks in the Fall Transformation Challenge. 6 weeks down. 4 weeks to go. I couldn't wait to get to the gym today to see how all my work was going to translate in weight loss since today was a 2 week check in for me. In the first two weeks I had lost 7 lbs (and believe me I was excited!) but at week four I had only lost an additional 2 lbs. So today I was hoping for a bigger loss. We had been training 4 days a week and I was following the meal plan and doing cardio. Although, I did have a cheat meal each week which was something I hadn't done in the first two weeks of the challenge. So when I stepped on the scale and saw I only lost another 2 lbs I was disappointed to say the least. Six weeks into the challenge and I've only lost 11 lbs. That's a good loss but I thought it would be more. I mean since June I've lost a total of 26 lbs which is amazing but once the challenge started we stepped everything up and I expected the weight to come off faster. Two weeks ago Brandon said I was building muscle which would affect my weight loss. But I couldn't keep saying it was muscle gain that was affecting my weight loss.

     So just like any other time that I am disappointed or don't understand something about the workout or my nutrition, Brandon and I sat down after the workout and talked. We talked about my nutrition. He looked over my meal plan and decided he didn't want to make any changes but asked me if I was eating every meal. I told him there were a few nights where I wasn't really hungry and didn't get in all 5 meals. He then tells me I HAVE to get all the meals in to fuel my body. He explained that it may sound strange but the more I eat the more I'll lose. I was like huh?? How is that possible?? It was in that moment he gave me an explanation that totally made sense to me.

     Brandon explained that the body is like a furnace and the food we eat is the fuel for our furnace. Okaaay. When you fuel the furnace with a meal it keeps the fire burning and your metabolism stays up and burns fat. As long as the furnace has fuel the fire keeps burning and the metabolism stays up. Makes sense. If you miss a meal the fire doesn't burn as well or may go out completely and the metabolism slows down. Okay. So every time I miss a meal my metabolism slows down. Great. Not doing that anymore. And so by eating all five meals throughout the day I keep my metabolism fueled. Makes perfect sense. Now. This was the first time I felt like I really understood what role nutrition plays in my weight loss. All my life I have been told that I needed to eat less fat and calories or eat less in general. But everything I have learned about eating clean and nutrition while training is the opposite. Eat healthy fats, protein and veggies and eat five meals throughout the day rather than just three. And now with this analogy from Brandon I totally understood why he tells me that nutrition comes first, then rest and working out.

     So today when I got home from the gym I spent a few hours doing meal prep for every meal for the work week. 5 days, 5 meals each day. I will not miss a meal this week. No excuses. I will fuel my metabolism and lose more weight this week. Can't wait to see the results!

When you realize how far you have come...

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Check out my FB album, Reaching Goals

     This week I was reminded of how far I've come and how I never want to go back to the old me. While going through pictures from my trip to Morocco last March I came across several that I didn't like or actually couldn't believe was me! So I took the picture and put it side-by-side with one of my after workout pics from the gym. A friend recently asked me if I had been documenting my progress with pictures. I had taken a few but nothing consistent. After comparing the pic from Morocco with a recent pic I decided I need to take more pictures as I go through the rest of this journey. I posted the comparison picture on social media and it has been overwhelming the number of accolades and comments I have received. It is so motivating. And today I decided I want to make this blog public so people can see what I've gone through and the journey that it has been. And if along the way I inspire someone to do the same for themself that will be awesome.

     On facebook the comparison picture has drawn 63 comments and 194 reactions so far. I am humbled by what people have said and the words of encouragement to keep going. Friends who work out understand my addiction to this process, others have told me my results are motivating and that I am awesome. Like I said. Humbling because I look at this as a journey of self discovery and change. I told my husband from the beginning that if I did this I was all in and I was doing it for ME and no one else. I've stayed true to my word. Every piece of advice, every change in diet and exercise, every time Brandon has said to do something during a workout that I didn't think I could do...every time I remind myself why I started and what my goals are. I remind myself that I am doing it for me. But it's really nice to hear the compliments from people because they remind me that I'm doing something great for myself and I'm doing it the right way. Friends are telling me I am 'crushing my goals' and 'killing it' or that I'm 'freaking awesome' or 'looking fantastic.' And now I have friends asking questions and I find that I have gone from inspired to inspiring. All this makes me feel even better about this transformation journey.

       So to continue getting outside my comfort zone when it comes to documenting my progress. This week I asked Brandon to take a video so I could see my squats. I don't normally like to see videos of myself. I've always been very self conscious, especially when I started to gain weight. But it took a long time for me to get to this point where I have the squat form without losing my balance and I wanted to see what it looked like and I'm quite proud of myself. Who knew back in June when I signed up for a trainer with Transform PT that I'd be squatting 80 lbs today. The video shows the last set, last exercise of the workout, superset with deadlifts. If you don't know what a deadlift is it is a weight training exercise where a loaded barbell (in this case loaded with two 45 lb plates) is lifted off the ground to hip level and then lowered to the ground. Four sets of 12 reps each. So last set when Brandon took the video I was really pushing through. Again, I decided to post the SQUATS VIDEO to social media and the comments were again overwhelming. I don't think a lot of my friends realized what exactly going to the gym is for me. Although, I look at the video and say to myself I can do more. I want to squat 45's. So I set my goal to be two 45 lb plates (total 135 with the bar) for 12 reps. I think I'll be able to do it sooner than I think too.

      So this week has really made me realize how far I have come. And although I have come far, I still have a long way to go. I have also realized I am more comfortable in my own skin and that I want to inspire people with my progress to go out and be the best version of themselves that they can be. 

One Month into the Fall 2018 Transformation Challenge

     So I have been training with Brandon for four months now. One month into the Transformation Challenge and I've lost 9 lbs. Good but I was hoping for more. Brandon put strict guidelines on how often I can weigh-in, only once every 2 weeks. After the first two weeks of the challenge I lost 7 lbs. I was so excited. The meal plan, HIIT cardio and training were all working to boost my weight loss. Then this week I weighed in a second time and only lost 2 lbs. I was a little disappointed but still it was a loss. Brandon reminded me that since we are training four days a week now I am gaining muscle and that could account for the small loss. But like I said it is still a loss. Plus, I keep reminding myself that this is a process. That the challenge is not the end of my journey. Nor is the challenge my goal. The challenge is one of my motivations. We still have six weeks to go. Plenty of time!!

     So I took some time today to reflect on how much I have changed over the last four months. I look at life so differently now. I eat clean, workout 6 days a week (and like it!), lift weights (never imagined I'd ever do that), do squats and deadlifts (never even heard of a deadlift before), think positive, manage my stress, do meal prep and look for alternative ways to deal with things like pain and insomnia. I have an awesome trainer who has taught me all this and who I continue to learn from about nutrition, working out, supplements, and weight training. In fact, all the trainers at Transform PT are pretty awesome. The atmosphere at Muscles Inc. is motivating and they make you feel like family there. Training has been the single most valuable decision I have ever made for myself. I started out wanting to lose weight and get in shape. Now I am obsessed with the process and excited to see what I can do next. It's not just about the pounds I've lost so far. It's about all the changes I have made and about what comes next. I am not done with my transformation journey and I have a long way to go but I've learned to trust the process and I have fallen in love with taking care of my body. It's the only body I've got.