Round Two

I took a short break but I'm back.

Keith demanded everyone take a break for a week before we started back up with another twelve weeks of training. A break from strength training, a break from our diets, a break from really all things associated with the past twelve weeks just to rejuvenate a bit.

I took the break but I took it in pieces. The week we had "off" I had a Rev Fit photo shoot scheduled Thursday afternoon. That meant no break from the diet but I did take the week off from strength training. We were on vacation at the Frio so I did a bit of hiking at Garner State Park and took a morning run around the Pecan Farm but no 6am circuit training.

Then the next week as everyone started back up I headed off for Napa Valley for a quick work trip and used that as my off week with respect to diet. I found I was still pretty careful with what I choose to eat from the breakfast and lunch buffets but it was awfully nice to be able to sit down and enjoy the dinners without focusing on what I should or shouldn't eat. Really the food in the wine country is fairly healthy. I think I had a good deal of fish and lamb all grilled with veggies but I did enjoy those incredible sourdough rolls and several glasses of wine! While I ate as a I pleased I was in the gym each morning before we started doing cardio and getting in a bit of weights.

So really... no true break where I abandoned all exercise and diet but a bit of respite form both and I found that really I had developed some pretty good habits and genuinely missed my routine.

I also took a break from blogging. I set out to chronicle the twelve weeks in an effort to help me push through the difficult bits and maybe to help others who were struggling through the same. I thought I would end the blog with the end of the twelve weeks, goal accomplished. Yet here I am doing another twelve weeks with Rev Fit so what to do with the blog?

The difficult part this time around is I don't have a major goal out there. I don't really have a desire to lose more weight or shift too much my body fat. I don't care if I can run faster, the fact that I run at all anymore amazes me. But I'm doing another twelve weeks because I like being fit, I enjoy the 5am alarm and the workout with my girlfriends, and I want to make sure I maintain a healthy lifestyle as I have two growing boys I'm going to need to chase down in the coming years.

I think that might need to be enough for me. I could establish cross-fit baselines and measure them every few weeks. Not a bad idea but when I thought about it I'm not sure why I care if I can do more push-ups, run a faster mile, or lift a heavier weight 12 weeks from now. I think maybe continuing to improve my BMI is more important to me. Not dropping further weight or body fat but shifting to more lean muscle mass. That probably equates to more training and maybe heavier weights. I'm good with that and it is good for me. It's hard to measure progress on a weekly basis though.

So for now those 5am wake up calls will keep coming but this time through there aren't calories I'm tracking, measurements I'm taking, numbers I'm logging. This time it is just about me and the fact that I enjoy it.

I've decided rather than abandoning the blog I'm going to keep it up for a year. Just a way for me to journal my activity for the next 12 months and see where I am 1 year later and why. Busting your ass for 12 weeks is one thing but did I really develop and can I maintain those healthy habits I had hoped to?

The Photo Finish

When is the challenge really finished? With your last session with your trainer? Twelve weeks from the day you started? For me it was yesterday, with the "after" photo shoot.

I don't love the camera as I'm not terribly photogenic but when I set my goals at orientation with Mariah I agreed to do the shoot because it was something very tangible that I could work towards and also something very public as she is a master marketer and plasters those pictures all over Facebook, etc... so your motivation remains high to look your best.

I took the day off work but still rolled out of bed at 5:30 to meet Keith. Not to work out this time but for coffee to talk about the next twelve weeks. Besides just an awesome workout a few days a week what do I want to accomplish over the next twelve weeks? Really just reinforcing the healthy habits I've developed while easing back into a more normal social life.

After coffee I enjoyed a pedicure then met Joel for a quick trip to Nordstrom's then on to meet Keith and the photographer.

The shoot was actually alot of fun. Bikini, sports bra/shorts, and a cute sundress. Lots of weights, a bench and a bosom ball. Hopefully in the hundreds of snaps she took there will be a good one or two that I can choose from to tape to my closet wall to remind myself why I'm out there running, lifting or cycling every day. Here is a pic that Keith snapped with his camera before he left...

After the shoot I went to Hem and bought two new pairs of jeans. 12 weeks ago my jeans were a size 31/32 and the low-rise ones gave me that dreaded muffin top. Yesterday size 27/28!

Finally, to celebrate, I met Joel for dinner and drinks at Mulberry and Justine's (two of my favorite Austin spots) and enjoyed a few well deserved glasses of wine!

So let's talk about those goals...

• I didn't run the Twilight 5K as it fell when I was nursing that bruised knee but I have no doubt I could go out and run a 5K any night of the week. In 30 minutes? Probably not, I'm still as slow as ever, but the fact that I can walk out my door and run 3 miles if I choose to feels great.
• At 5:30 am the scale read 127. Down 26 pounds, 4 more than what I thought to be a ridiculous goal of 22 pounds in 12 weeks.
• The dress I wore for the shoot was a size 4, down from a typical 8/10 AND was safety pinned in the back to keep it from falling off!
  
• Body fat at the shoot was 11.5% , 14.5% down from 26% at orientation!

When I walked away from the shoot with those numbers and a photo on my phone I finally felt I'd completed the challenge. Not just completed it but knocked it out of the park.

Crossing the Finish Line

I'm not even sure where to start today. The twelve weeks are behind me as of Thursday morning at 7am. That was the last workout of the challenge. That morning I weighed in at 130, two pounds below my goal and one short of the 129 I am hoping to reach by this coming Thursday when we finish off with a photo shoot to see for ourselves the progress we've made.

Was it hard. Absolutely. The workouts themselves left me drenched and drained by 7am every Tuesday and Thursday. Within weeks we were working out EVERY SINGLE DAY, some days twice a day. I think in the 90 days I missed a workout maybe four times and way more than made up for them with all the double ups I did in the last 6 weeks when I realized that Mariah wasn't as crazy as I thought and my goals were actually in sight.

Would I do it again? I've already signed up to train for another 12 weeks with Keith. No, not to lose additional weight, really for no other reason than I enjoy it and I think at almost 40 you'll need to work almost as hard to keep the weight off as you did to lose it. I'm interested in how I'll approach the workouts without such an aggressive goal out there to chase. Must be careful what I ask for though. :-) If I go asking for advice there is no telling what kind of challenge I'll sign myself up for this fall!

Revelation Fitness Rocks!

I am down 20 pounds this morning! Same weight I was when I left college 18 years ago. Who knew it was even possible... I guess Mariah did! Shout out to Keith for keeping the pressure and encouragement coming.

I'm now 132 pounds, down from a high of 152, and am desperately in need of clothes. My slacks are literally falling off. I've defaulted to dresses everyday because my shoulders can hold them up! I'm carving out 1/2 day next week to enjoy my first shopping trip in months. I have no idea what to tell the sales girl when she asks what size jeans I wear, I love it!

132 is the target we set to maintain. My goal is to reach 129 before the end of the 12 week challenge so there is a bit of room to "bounce back". I have two more weeks. Those 3 pounds are gonna be history!

Eight Week High

I started this blog because I wasn't certain how intense the 12 weeks would get. I know it helped me to read blogs from a few other people who had taken Mariah's 12 week challenge, to understand their high and low points and know that they got through the difficult weeks and met their goals. It seemed that it might help me to have a place to document my frustrations or progress and also something to look back on to see just what it took to get through the twelve weeks.

I think I've been remiss about blogging regularly because overall I have LOVED this program. Yes there have been weeks where I've been frustrated. When you inexplicably gain weight despite adhering religiously to the diet and workouts, when I bruised my knee and every workout was somewhat at least uncomfortable if not downright painful, etc... But eight weeks in the rear view mirror and I have only positive things to say.

Mariah said this would be the best summer of my life and I've had some good ones but I have to agree that this has been just what I needed. I'm back to maintaining a very regular schedule with several 5am mornings a week. I work out typically every day of the week, several days twice a day. I feel great and have no hesitation to join in whatever weekend warrior activity Tracey has currently dreamed up. I've lost 15 pounds so far and am wearing shorts again and plan to buy a new swimsuit today.

I traveled to Orlando last week for a large customer event we host once per year. I could not believe the number of people who greeted me asking what I was doing differently as I looked fantastic. Nice feedback when these are people I haven't really seen since I started the challenge. Eight weeks in and they could definitely tell a difference which was all the motivation I needed to get through the next four weeks. And really, like I said, there wasn't much motivation needed as I'm loving these workouts.

I will admit that I'm looking forward to scaling back a few days a week and I am definitely looking forward to a pizza. I think probably for lunch or dinner on my last day, July 29th!

Mid-point Reset

Last week was a whirlwind on the Revelation front and I never found the time to sit down and blog.

The first of the week I spent traveling where I tried to be very careful with what I ate and hit the gym every morning yet gained two pounds. Damn. I lost it again by the end of the week but still frustrating as that netted a pretty flat week. Not to mention the knee. What was sore before developed into visible bruising and swelling. I took to the gym and tried to stay off the streets to rest it best I could but I'm still working out 7 days a week so I can't say I'm really giving it time to heal.

After 5 weeks we got a new trainer, Keith Outlaw. How good a name is that for a trainer?

Keith dropped the excessive weights and moved to more of a continuous circuit of light weight and cardio. This week he was off on vacation so Jim Nettles, Mariah's partner in Revelation Fitness, stepped in.

Wow, these trainers are all fit but Jim was definitely something to admire and so friendly. Again our workouts changed pretty significantly as he did more core and body weight work. Today we used the TRX bands which I'm seriously thinking about buying for the house. An eye hook on the back porch and I could go to town. He also sent me good reminders and tweaks Monday night by email and spent the whole hour going through our diets with us and making sure we had all our questions answered. All of which made for a really good week 7.

So my life as it exists in week 7...
3 days of strength training and 5-6 days of cardio a week.
1000 calories a day, 5-6 small meals/snacks with at least 100 grams of protein.
No carbs after breakfast and fruit only after a workout.
Basically meat, veggies, egg whites, greek yogurt, occasional oatmeal or granola and protein shakes. Have to plan to make sure I enjoy those juicy summer peaches as soon as I get back from the gym.

5 weeks to go, already half way there. I'm loving the workouts and would be happy to sign up for another 12 weeks just to keep training. The diet...I don't mind the diet day to day but I can't say that I'm not really looking forward to the 1st of August. It was quite the struggle to turn down a beer after fly fishing in Colorado last week and on the boat last night as the sun went down.

Today is the end of week 5 and I'm still going strong.

The body camps and format of the whole challenge are great. I got the right mix of exercise and diet about two weeks ago and really began to see a faster drop in weight. My arms are even starting to get back some of their definition. Still some work to be done on my legs and abs for sure but it feels good to actually be able to see the difference!

I've quit trying to keep track of our workouts. I typically go straight from our training sessions to the gym for another 30-45 minutes of cardio and by the time I'm done I'm exhausted, racing to work and can only seem to recall the most evil of the exercises we did that morning. We're getting enough homework exercises on the weekend though that I think I'll have a good selection to pull from down the road.

We are switching trainers next week. I quite like Christina. She's cute with a perfect little body which motivates you to work harder just to look like her. Tuesday we switch to Keith who she described as a small Mr. Clean.

I did notice over the last week that my knee is starting to flare back up. Bad news as I was just starting to enjoy running again. What am I saying? I hate running, always have. But I was getting back to a good place where I could go out and run most of a 3 mile loop and feel good when I got home. I'm going to have to decide pretty soon if I need to cut it out to preserve my knee for our workouts and keep my cardio to bike, crossramp, treadmill or other classes at the gym. Shame as running is the fastest way to knock out a workout on Saturday morning.