My babies!!! After being in a land far, far, away from blogs for far, far too long I have returned. Boy did I miss y’all!
The holiday season is stressful, no? I love me some fa la la la, but this year Christmas cheer just hasn’t felt as strong! I am ready to change that. Lucky for me the festivities will begin today. First on the agenda: my office Christmas party.
Work functions are always sticky in my world. The guys I work with are VERY laid back. It’s 7 men and me. Needless to say I have become one of the boys to them and would fit right in if they decided to throw a kegger. BUuuut, the mood is generally much different at our holiday parties so I have laid out a few rules this year:
1) Don’t drink too much (always important in any professional setting. Except on Fridays…or Tuesday mornings). No one wants to be THAT girl.
2) Don’t wear anything too slutty. I LOVE me an excuse to dress up as can be evidenced here and here, but I spend 40 hours a week with these men and I don’t need their wives to hate me or have them (my officemates not their wives) picturing cleavage every time they see me. Blech to creepy old men. Moving on!
3) Don’t stuff my face. To me the holidays are a marathon not a sprint. I have many festive functions in the upcoming weeks so there is no reason to blow my proverbial load all in one sitting. I want to try a few things here and there, but no need to go on an all out binge (even if my boss DOES feel the need to “fatten me up” any chance he gets). Besides I would much rather focus on a coctail...er...crap...I mean conversation.
Phew now that I got that off my chest on to my next topic of discussion. Remember that little challenge I decided to embark on with my husband roughly 3 months ago? We termed it Body for Life, though we never really stuck to the true BFL parameters? Yea, that one. Well it’s over. As of this morning. It has been just under 12 weeks (Sunday would be the official last day) and I must say it’s been...well...an experience.
First some statistics:
Week 0
Weight: 156.8
Chest: 37.5''
Waist: 29''
Hips: 39''
L Thigh: 23.5''
R Thigh: 23.5''
L Calf: 14.25''
R Calf: 14.25
L Arm: 11.25''
R Arm: 11.25''
Neck: 13.5''
Remember this sad face?
Ugh those make me cringe.
This morning – Week 12
Weight: not really sure...we threw out the scale :) 147ish?
Chest: 34.5''
Waist: 26.5''
Hips: 36.5''
L Thigh: 21.25''
R Thigh: 21.25''
L Calf: 14''
R Calf: 14''
L Arm: 10.25''
R Arm: 10.25''
Neck: 12.5''
After donning some stripper heels here we have the current...
*man I wish I had a better camera or some better lighting...
More importantly, how do I feel? I honestly feel great! I have more muscle than I’ve had, probably ever! I have become a full on morning workout convert and almost feel lazy if I sleep in past 5:30. I’ve learned that a splurge day once or twice a week WON’T completely impede my progress. The great thing about this challenge is it doesn't have to stop here. I didn't kill myself to get "the best body I've ever had" just to gain everything back over the holidays. I can continue to build muscle and improve.
In the interest of full disclosure though, I must admit this challenge was hard. Both mentally and physically...but mostly mentally. Working out and eating perfectly clean 6 days a week for 12 weeks straight is no easy task. There were times we cheated. Probably a good 4 or 5 times over the course of the challenge, although still achieving great results.
There are a few strong messages I’ve taken away from this challenge:
- Lifting weights is essential to a strong lean figure. I actually really enjoy doing it to! I love seeing my muscles grow and watching them slowly appear in the mirror(wow just realized in incredibly vain that just sounded). In addition to the mere outward appearances, I really do think it has lit my metabolism on fire. Those few cheat days weren’t nearly so damaging because muscle helps eat up those excess calories.
- Only allowing 1 cheat/treat/splurge/free (whatever the heck you want to call it!) day isn’t really the best idea for me. I seem to be an all or nothing person. There is no moderation. I came away from almost all my free days feeling like I had lost all control and stuffed myself silly. That’s not a fun feeling! I do much better having a few treats here and there, rather than being so restrictive just to binge when I loosened the reigns.
-I will not spontaneously combust if I go without having carbs at every.singly.solitary.meal. I love protein and I just don’t find myself craving more food, or rummaging in the pantry after a filling meal of chicken, broccoli, and some healthy fat. I am VERY sensitive to carbs. I could feel sorry for myself, or I could rejoice in the fact that I have found what triggers by bouts with over eating! By no means am I putting myself on a low carb diet, but I have realized that lowering the amount I consume on a daily basis has really helped me feel better both physically, mentally, and emotionally.
- Never start a challenge like this that ends somewhere near the holidays. The last few weeks have been UBER hard and I didn't exactly finish as strong as I would have liked (I hope you can't see evidence of the multiple slices of carrot cake I consumed yesterday). Irregardless I feel like I am strong enough to attack the next month with moderation and start the new year feeling fantastic no disgusting.
- Lastly, I really love food blogging! I took some time off to get my head squared away, deal with some personal biznasty, and refocus. Mission accomplished and I’m begging you all to accept me back into your lives!
All in all if you are considering a Body for Life challenge or any other challengefor that matter, I 100% say go for it! Both the hubbie and I learned so much about ourselves throughout the process and I truly think we came out the other end (did I just make a poop reference?) successful :)
Now that I have written the longest post in the history of posts I suppose I will leave you for a short time. Until tomorrow my pets!
