I’m so excited, I’m shaking. And I haven’t even had any caffeine Why? Because I just looked at my pictures from 5 short weeks ago and this morning and oh! what a difference! Forget the numbers (which are good, by the way). Photos really do tell a much bigger story than a few numbers ever could.
Lemme back up to 5 weeks ago. Five weeks ago, I was ready! I had been waiting for Craig’s next contest to start for about two months, ever since listening to a podcast with a contest winner. I’ve been in transformation mode for exactly two years now, but I knew a deadline was going to help me take things to the next level and I realized that Craig Ballantyne was the man to get me there.
Over these two years, I can’t say I’ve tried everything, but I’ve researched constantly and found much bleeding edge research, some of which even applies to women, and even a percentage that applies to women over 40*, and much of which I’ve applied. But results were slow. Painfully slow, in fact. Demoralizing. Always progress, but I wasn’t sure I was going to get back the level of fitness I had before kids in this lifetime at the rate I was going! In fact, I was having difficulty believing it was even possible.
*this is kind of a joke; a person is a person, but I never do know what do make of the testosterone research
Like so many parents, my husband and I have turned to dough. Part of that was the whole all-consuming baby thing which leaves one with little time nor energy to even think of working out, but another part was difficult financial times on a single income and resorting to pasta as a dietary staple far too often. Eat dough, turn into dough. Now we know. So cleaner eating has been a consistent journey over these two years.
All the research I read was about workouts and that is where I focused my energy. I have always lifted weights and now I lifted smarter. I have always done cardio work but now I focused on intervals. And meanwhile, online friends lost 60 and 100 pounds while I struggled to shed 7. I worked longer, harder, faster. I got a heart rate monitor so I could be sure I was cranking it and burning thousands of calories a week. That’s right, thousands. I signed up for a fitness seminar and in preparation for that, I took things up to an even higher level to ensure I’d be able to keep up during the morning workouts. I kept up. Barely.
After the seminar, I realized I needed to do something about my diet. I had been under the impression that eating clean, to the point of satiation, and having protein with every meal was going to do the trick. I never knew that people with the amazing body type I am after did the dreaded D word <shudder>! It was time for something drastic. I picked up a diet plan, which, while I’m sure works quite well for some, did not work for me. Abandoning that after a good shot, I had to recognize that it was simply time to count calories, something I have never done in my life. I started counting just a few weeks before Craig announced his contest and saw incredible results immediately. What I thought was an impossible
plateau was busted that first week. I’ve dropped on average at least a pound a week from day 1. At that point, I learned about Eat Stop Eat and began doing a weekly fast as well. This has allowed me a bit more freedom on weekends and keeps me sane. By the day the contest started, I was feeling pretty good about myself in a bathing suit.
Until today. Those before photos look horrible compared to today’s photos, just 5 short weeks later so just think where I’ll be in another 7 weeks! This is insane, seriously! My husband and I are eating less and saving money, and we’re saving so much time at the gym! I am working out 20-45 minutes instead of 45 minutes to 2 hours a day. The program we are currently doing (30-Day for Maximum Fat Loss Workout) calls for just 4 days working out/week and I don’t even go to the gym on the other 3 days! It’s amazing! I have plenty of energy for yard work projects (and dreaded housecleaning) but really no inclination to do my twice daily workouts from before. I’ve ditched the heart rate monitor. I don’t understand it, but I am loyally following Craig on this because he says that it’s the intervals
that burn fat.
Here are some before/during stats:
Start 5 weeks later Difference
Weight 160.8lbs 157.4lbs -3.4lbs
Body Fat 25.7% 24% -1.7%
Abs at Belly Button 33” 31.75” -1.25”
Thigh 22” 20.75” -1.25”
My goal for the past 2 years has been to get my body fat down to 20%. During this journey, I’ve done a lot of soul searching and struggled with whether this was even possible after 2 kids and the age of 40. Now I know nothing can stop me! One last thing that only photos can show. My face is completely different in just these 5 weeks. You don’t get to choose where the fat comes from and this is a great bonus!
