Body Revolution: Phase 2, Workout 6

Body Revolution. Phase 2, Workout 6

On to week six. You’re halfway through now, so congratulations! After a quick warmup consisting of swing kicks, speed rope, and alternating knee thrusts, you’re ready to work the front of your body. Did I mention that on even workouts (2, 4, 6, etc.) you work the front of the body and on odd days (1, 3, 5, etc.) you work the back of the body? I don’t think I did, so that’s one little tidbit I am pretty sure I forgot to mention. 

You start out with with bent over, high and wide rows. You do crossover lunges to the front with a bicep curl, and then you do a move that is in almost every Jillian workout: plank rows. She has you do supermans with weights. You repeat that after doing rockstar jumps for cardio. 

Circuit two is a bit meaner. She has you in stork stance (or warrior 3) with low rows. Then she has you in reverse plank. She has you grab you resistance band and do heavy bicep curls. Since my resistance band is kind of crappy, I just used my heaviest dumbbells and sped it up a bit. You repeat this after doing cardio, which I don’t know the name of. I remember doing it in Ripped In 30. It’s kind of like doing a skater, but instead of swinging your leg back like you’re skating, you bring your knee up and stabilize (almost as if you’re going to kick). 

Circuit 3 had Statue of Liberty, which is a single leg squat holding one weight and flying the weight with your arm back. Then it’s time to do the lunge chop, which kind of reminds me of a baseball swing. You repeat each of these on one side so you do each side twice per circuit, and your cardio is running man. Have fun with that. (Personally? I love running man, but I hear so many people who hate it!)

Circuit 4 is actually my favorite circuit, which is kind of weird since it’s mostly ab work on the mat, and I usually hate ab work! On your back with your heaviest weights, do a lateral raise and a high crush (basically a sit up). Then you work your low abs with reverse crunch. Next you work your obliques with windshield wipers. Last move is you’re up doing kettlebell swings with a dumbbell. Since I have a kettlebell, I just use my kettlebell instead of a dumbbell. Your cardio is zig zag jumps, and I love these. 

Is it really a "healthy" lifestyle or just a mask of a healthy lifestyle?

Beware, I'm whining.

The scale has not always been my friend. In fact, it's always been my mortal enemy, unless it feels like going down. And then it's my best friend. But it's rarely my bestie.

So as we all know (or we don't know? Does anyone actually read this? ha), I'm a little more than halfway through Body Revolution. After last November's hip injury that sidelined me for a month, and then the calf which made me elliptical dependent, and who knows what else (poor diet choices maybe?), the scale has been going upwards. I’ll be honest: thought that doing Body Revolution would finally make the scale going down. I envisioned it, imagined it out. I hopped on the scale the day before I started, took before photos and measurements - the best I could doing both of these alone, and despite Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas looming, I made the commitment to redo Body Revolution and eat as clean as possible. I think I'm doing pretty good, ya know? I mean, sure, I did enjoy Thanksgiving, but for the most part, I like to think I eat pretty clean, I definitely am very calorie conscious, but really? I saw myself in mid-January, rocking a body that did NOT look like Christmas abs.

Well, so far, that’s not been the case.

I don't know anyone who works out as much as I do (in addition to Body Rev, I run for an hour a day, and on Body Rev days off, I usually do Country Heat workouts) and eats as healthy as I do, as little as I do, and still gains weight. I'll be honest, too: it's discouraging as hell. I've talked about how I don't really have a great support system when it comes to diet. I watch everyone stuff their face with brownies, pumpkin pies, fast food, macaroni and cheese. I typically say no but when I say yes, I measure out meticulously. I'm usually okay with other people's negative eating habits, but get a little jealous. Wow, I'd love a brownie, or some McDonalds. And not only that, but I'd love that and also love to not have the guilt that comes with it. The voice in my mind that beats me down for being human and wanting a cupcake. On the other side, I'm constantly dealing with random injuries. I work myself out to where I’m in pain every single day. The heating pad (or bath tub) is my best friend. I'm not joking when I say I have dreams in which Jillian Michaels is screaming in the background. I sometimes wake up in a panic thinking I missed a workout. It's *always* on my mind. And with how seriously devoted I am to all this, it's extremely discouraging that it doesn't show on the scale. I know, ditch the scale and use measurements, but that number is still important to me.

Even more, it’s starting to affect me in other ways, too. I know that I am not very nice anymore. I'm snappy and rude because I'm constantly uptight and thinking about this stuff. I would love to make plans to hang out with people, but honestly, I am so fixated on healthy eating and not missing a workout that going off my schedule freaks me out. I’m sure I could enjoy myself, but when the fun is over and I’m alone, it’s either a night of panic attacks because I didn’t work out or eat healthy, or it’s a workout at 3AM because of it. Holidays make me nervous because I have to work in a day of no working out plus food I haven't prepared.

Frankly, I’m sick of it all. I’m sick of being injured, totally focused on calories, scared to have fun, and unhappy in general. It's like I went from one unhealthy lifestyle to another unhealthy lifestyle that masks itself as healthy, or as a success story. After being called fat my whole life and feeling like I was nothing, and having people say that to me (or about me), I love my thinner silhouette and what I have accomplished (despite the issues I have now). I say thinner silhouette, because I don’t feel thin. I don't love my body. I don't think I ever will. I don't think I ever have! Weight has been an issue for me since I was a little girl, long before I knew about self loving myself. This terrifies me, that I will never be happy with my body, that I will constantly be glued to the scale, calories, eating healthy, exercising, burning, injuries. What scares me is that this is my life. Despite all that unhappiness, I don’t want to give it up. I do want to find a balance, but I’m not sure how.

Body Revolution: Phase 2, Workout 5

I did Phase 2, Workout 5 just a little while ago. I’m gonna talk about it while it’s fresh on my mind. I gotta be honest: this one is probably one of my least favorite Jillian workouts. One word that comes to mind? Pain.

Your warmup consists of four sun salutations from yoga. Sometimes I feel like I’m not getting a good stretch from this but other times I do, so I guess it depends on just how loose my muscles are. You spend a lot of time in plank position for your first circuit! She has you do a pushup into side plank as your very first move, and I’ll be honest: that one bums me out! I can do military style pushups occasionally, but I often have to modify. It kills my ego! I’m not sure if I have the right form and that’s why my wrists, elbows, and arms don’t move that way, or of it’s simply because my wrists, elbows and arms don’t move that way! haha. I want to turn my wrists in or out, and not keep them straight. I’ve also experimented with having my legs wider or closer together. I’m worried that I might be making the workouts too easy though. That’s one of the downfalls of doing at home workouts and not having a personal trainer or someone knowledgeable watch my form and see if they can offer some insight on that. Mountain climbers are back, and I have mixed feelings with them. Jillian also favors crescent post in this workout, and she has you do tricep presses in crescent, and jump squats while holding weights if you want a little extra. 

I like circuit two is my favorite, but I can’t help but roll my eyes when Jillian tells you to get light weights (I’m assuming 3’s) and to do shoulder presses while in sumo squat. She talks about how you haven’t seen something like that before, but being familiar with her other programs, I’m pretty familiar with it, and definitely go heavier than she recommends. I find it a bit weird. Wood chops are back, which feel to me more like a baseball swing. Linking my favorite sport to this move has helped me like it better. Funny how that works! I enjoy scissor abs but I don’t stick my hands under my tailbone like Jillian suggests. High knees for cardio, which I admittedly sissy out of because high knees are what messed up my calf and I’m so afraid of messing it up again.

Circuit 3 is mean. It’s another ego killing circuit, haha. It makes my shoulders BURN. She has you use the resistance band. Mine is way different than Jillian’s. Hers has handles and seems to be like a tube, mine is about a 6ft long and 6in wide long piece of rubber. So it’s hard to do some of the moves in the way she wants it without the handles, but I do my best with what I have. In crescent pose with the resistance band, you do like a hug move. Open your arms out into a T and close them in front of your chest, and then on the floor in crab position to do tricep presses with one leg up. She has you do punches in crescent pose, also with the resistance band for cardio. Mean, mean woman. My poor arms, shoulders. I’ll love it when I put on a tank top, but doing it, I want to cry. :) 

Circuit 4 annoys me because I feel like it gets my heart rate way down and I don’t feel like I’m doing anything, although I know I am. Fitbit backs up the heart rate concern, but with that said, I know Fitbit’s aren’t 100% accurate. But I also do think I need to find ways to make this harder, and you may need to as well, depending on your level. She has you do single leg squats raising the weight up over your head, and then on the floor on your side, doing a tricep press. The up and down gets a bit frustrating too; every 30 seconds you’re dropping to the floor or popping up and for this one, it gets me a little dizzy, especially with it being towards the end.

Phew. This workout is one I will be happy that I only had to do four times! (Other workouts I love so much I’m bummed I only get to do them four times!) There are just some workouts that I am totally not fond of, and this is one of them. And that’s okay. In whole, I adore the program, and I’ll still do this workout for a random pick me up once I’m through with Body Rev! I might go back to this one once I complete the whole program again to see if I still find it as challenging as I do now, just to compare how strong I’ve gotten through the course of the program! 

Reviewing Body Rev and I re-do Body Rev.

Hey guys! Sorry about the delay on my Body Rev review for Phase 2 and 3. I started working on Phase 2 by memory and have the file saved, but I recently restarted Body Rev, and I start Phase 2 of the workouts tonight! So I'm thinking of trying something a little different and giving my opinion of the workouts as I do them. Hopefully within the next two weeks I'll have Phase 5 and 6 up. Since it'll be something I'm doing currently, it'll be fresh on my mind, and the reviews might even be better.

I should have done this with workouts 1-4 plus cardio, but I had my previous review up before I restarted Body Rev and I wasn't sure what to do. I finished that up on Friday. I keep Saturday as my scheduled Jillian rest day (although I tend to do Country Heat or some other super fun workout on those days, usually dance related!). I still have the same opinion of Phase 1 as I did before. I loved it, but I probably could have skipped Phase 1 all together. I didn't because I adore the Cardio 1 DVD and the first four weeks of lower intensity workouts helped me heal from yet another injury I sustained. Back in August, I was doing a Gymra workout, and while doing some high knees, my calf began to hurt (as if I had tore something). I iced it afterwards, and the next day it was sore as I ran, but then it went away with 1-2 days. I didn't think much of it until I was doing the same workout (AND high knees, too!) and I heard an audible pop and then immediate pain. Finishing the workout was a major challenge, and for the next several weeks I had on and off weird calf pain. It'd go away and I'd start walking, and then build up to running, and then the first day I pushed it with intensity, the pain would be back as if it were day one with the injury. Oh man, it was such a bummer. I couldn't run at all, and I took about a month off of running. I brought my ancient old elliptical down from the attic and used it. (It actually was a nice break from running and it's made me realize that I don't have to run, I can do other stuff!) Finally I got back to running five weeks ago. I ran with my "normal" intensity and gave it a week to make sure that I didn't mess my calf up again. Luckily it went well, so I started Body Rev again. I wanted to make sure I felt like I could push myself. I took measurements and before and after pictures. Hopefully I will be brave enough to share them when the program is over! ;)

How is Autumn going for everyone? :)

Body Revolution Phase 1 Rundown

Jillian Michaels - Body Revolution - Phase 1

So here’s a rundown of Phase 1 of Body Revolution! Phase 1 covers the whole first month. There are five workouts in Phase 1 (P1) - four strength training workouts and one cardio workout. 

P1, Workout 1: Like every Jillian workout, you start with a warm up. This one has military march, arm swings, hip and knee circles. Once you’re warmed up, you’re ready to work! In Body Revolution, you have four circuits. In each circuit, you have three moves, you do a cardio interval, and then you repeat the three moves. Circuit one has squats, pushups, plank hold, and then chest flies. Cardio is something called towel run, which is where you pretend to run around a towel on the ground. I really liked this for some reason! Circuit two was sumo squats, tricep kickback, and standing abductions. Cardio was speedbag, which is a favorite of mine. Circuit 3 was chair squat with a front raise, standing tricep extension, standing in Warrior 2 Post, and then cardio interval was marching in place. Fourth circuit was leg extensions, bicycle crunches, leg extensions on the other side, and then lateral raises. Cardio interval was a squat out to the side. And then you cool down. 

P1, Workout 2: So again, you start with a warmup that has dynamic stretches to get your heart rate up. I think I remember skaters, arm swings, and toe touches in the warmup. Circuit one had you on your hands and knees, extending one leg back and opposite arm out (bird dog), pelvic thrusts with a resistance band, superman, and then pelvic thrusts on the other side. Cardio was alternating knee thrusts. Circuit 2 had static lunge with rotations, wide dumbbell rows, static lunge on the other side, and the bicep drags. Cardio was side to side kickbacks. Circuit 3 had deadlift with bicep curls, donkey kicks, crunches, and then donkey kicks not he other wide, with knee hikes for cardio. Last circuit has you doing seated rows with your resistance band, good mornings, hammer curls, and step ups. Cardio was uppercuts in squat.  And then it’s time to cool down!

P1, Workout 3: Quick warmup with a bit of cardio and dynamic stretching to get your body warm (jumping jacks, cat/cow stretch) and you’re ready to go! Circuit one has pushups, walkout planks, lunges, and downward dog with a leg grab. Cardio is jump rope and you repeat all the strength moves. Circuit 2 included sumo squats with a tricep extension, camel, squat presses, and cable presses, and you repeat these after your cardio interval, which is squat punches. Onward to circuit three where you do plank into crescent pose, crab, and side crunches, and repeating on the other side after plie hops. Finishing up with Circuit 4, you do tree pose with a lateral raise, plank up (which I despise), and inchworm. Your cardio is skiers. You finish up with a cool down - you’ve earned it!!

P1, Workout 4: You’re almost done with the first month! Woo hoo! So, after a quick cardio and stretching warmup, you start circuit one with alternating forward lunges, rows in squat position, and single leg deadlifts with upright rows, which you repeat after your cardio intervals of plyometric skaters. Circuit 2 has side lunges and bicep curls, bent over wide rows, surrender lunges, and weighted step ups, which you repeat after lateral/side to side hops. Next is thigh lifts, which I loved this little break. Lay on your side and put a dumbbell on the outside of your leg and lift them up! Alternating leg lifts in blank, and hollow man, and then you repeat all that after fast feet. In your final circuit of the final month, you do terry pulls, weighted good mornings, and something called squirms. You repeat that after your cardio interval that is a combo of jab, cross, and hook. I loved these! And then cool down! You’ve earned it! 

Cardio 1: So cardio starts quick and ends quick. Since it’s a straight up cardio workout, no warmup is needed. There are eihgt exercises that last a minute long, and you repeat it three times, making it about 28 minutes long, and then a cool down. The workout includes march in place, fast feet, half squat with punches, jogging in place, running man, speed bag, arm circle kickouts, and suicide runs. I’ve always been a cardio girl so this cardio was right down my alley. I loved it!

So, the first two weeks, I found pretty easy. In most Jillian workouts, she has you working two muscle groups at once. For example, while doing things like tricep extensions, you’re also doing squats and working legs and arms at the same time. With the first two weeks of Body Revolution, you’re not doing that, you’re only working one muscle group at the same time. I felt like I could have skipped the first two weeks, to be honest, but I also enjoyed it as it was a good way to rebuild myself up. Although I had started back up with Jillian workouts and repeated Ripped In 30 and played around with some other DVD’s, it was fun to start a new program from the beginning. If you’ve worked out with Jillian before, you may not need the first two phases. Personally, I still would squat or lunge while working my arms, and vice versa. Otherwise, it really was a bit too easy for me. (It doesn’t last though. Just wait! You’ve been warned!) The third and the fourth week were a little better, but I still revved it up. If you’re familiar with Jillian or done them before, you know that you can take it further. Just listen to your body, it’s your workout!

Introducing Body Revolution!

Hey guys! I did something that really intimidated me: I completed Body Revolution! Woo hoo! I was planning on blogging about it as I went but life happened. I’m still trying to decide on exactly how I want to break it down. Every two weeks you change your workout. Usually when I review a DVD, I break each workout down by levels, about about the majority of the exercises, but if that were the case, there would be a TON of entries. I initially thought I would break it down by weeks (week 1 and 2, week 3 and 4, and so on all the way up to week 11 and 12) but that would be a lot of entries on one program also, although shorter than one entry per exercise. Earlier today while thinking of how I was going to do the blog, I even thought about breaking it into phases. There are three (each month equals a phase) so that would cut it down to three entries about Body Revolution, not counting this one. If anyone has a preference, let me know! Lots of reading for you equals lots of typing for me and I’ve proven I can be a bit slow. ;)(That’s not that I don’t think of this blog all the time!!)

So Body Revolution. Ninety days. Oh man, guys, I just kept putting it off and putting it off. What if it progressed into something way too hard? What if I couldn’t do it? But…what if I could?? Ultimately I started Body Revolution because (not surprising!) I was scheduled to do an ab/core workout and uggggh! I still hate core workouts. They are a waist!! (Get it? Waist, waste, core workout…) Not wanting to do it, I remembered I had Body Revolution just sitting there and boom. I watched Week 1, really thought I would enjoy it, and that’s it. :)

So Body Revolution is different from any other Jillian DVD I’ve done. Instead of having two people in the background doing modified and advanced moves, there is a whole room of people! And this includes favorites of mine such as Natalie, Anita, Mimi and others from other DVD’s, but new people too! I really liked that there was a good mix of men and women in this program, because I felt like I might actually get a few guys to work out with me, and not feel that it was just a “girly” workout. This workout progresses, too! It really is a building block program. Each workout gets harder and harder. The great thing is that it changes every two weeks, so there is no getting bored. (Or if you’re like me, if there is a particular workout you despise, you only have to do it for two weeks, a total of four times!!! haha!) There is 15 workouts in total. Twelve strength training workouts, and three cardio workouts. It’s separated in three months, or phases. Month/Phase 1 is includes Cardio 1, Workouts 1, 2, 3, and 4. Phase 2 is Cardio 2 and Workouts 5, 6, 7, and 8. And Phase 3 is Cardio 3 and workouts 9, 10, 11, and 12. So for the first two weeks, you do workout 1, workout 2, cardio 1 each twice a week (Monday and Thursdays could be workout 1, Tuesdays and Fridays workout 2, and Wednesday and Saturday cardio 1), and have one rest day. Then on week 3-4, you do the same things except instead of workouts 1 and 2, changed those with 3-4 and continue with Cardio 1. It’s the same schedule as you progress to a new phase. Each workout twice a week (cardio remains the same for the whole month). I loved how except for the cardio (which did get a little bit boring by the time it came to switch) I was never bored!

The cast/background people are super motivating and it was great to see some of my favorites and get some new favorites! Mimi made me laugh just as much in this one as she makes me laugh in Killer Body. There were some moves that I had never done before in a Jillian workout so that was really cool! In all, the program was an amazing success! I definitely notice changes in my body that I could not see before, and that’s awesome, because I was beginning to feel a little stuck. I truly believe that a beginner could start with this (I felt that the beginning was a bit easy, but I will go into more details when I give a more detailed review) and be proud of what they’ve accomplished when they get near the end. I truly feel that way and I’ve been doing these type of workouts for a few years now!

Body Revolution may be my new favorite Jillian program and I am so excited to go further into detail soon! 

Finding the joy in fitness again

Hey guys! Wow, still can’t believe that I kept that last post up. I’ll be honest: It was kind of liberating in a way! Since then, I’ve been working very hard to try to find the joy in fitness again and not be so controlled by the need to get on the treadmill or do my workout. I want to enjoy my life, and if I start dreading all this now when I still have (hopefully) years and years to live, it’ll not be a fun life to live!

I recently bought a stand up paddle board (SUP), which is something I’ve wanted to try for a long, long time! I read about it in a book and it sounded interesting, especially after the protagonist in the book talked about how it was such a great workout. Haha. (Seriously though, I’ve always been interested in water sports, water skiing, jet skiing, swimming. I like to think it’s because I was born under the sign of the water bearer!) I googled stand up paddle boarding though, and beyond the idea of a great workout, it looked SO FUN. And quickly it became something I wanted to try, and then it became a major interest. So for the last couple of years, I’ve been hemming and hawing over buying a board or renting one and trying it somewhere nearby. I looked up all kinds of prices and different types, from inflatable to solid. It just so happened that I was at my local Walmart, and saw one, and like always, I went to look at it and dream about paddle boarding, and then I noticed the price. A good $200 cheaper than the cheapest one I had seen. What. I went home thinking it might be too good to be true, and did some research online again, when I learned that that paddle board was actually rated fairly highly at other places online. I watched a few review videos on youtube, and then double checked the prices again, on different sporting good websites, amazon, and on Walmart’s actual website, where the same exact paddle board was super high. What?! So, we went back, double checked, and the paddle board was legitimately being sold for under $70. The man who worked there said that they were definitely losing money on the boards selling them for that price, but they were just wanting to get rid of them. I somehow lucked out! I bought the last board except for the display. 

I’ve gotten it out on the water once and really, really enjoyed it! I only fell once, and that was after the first time standing up. Once I got standing again, I really did it! I only fell one other time, but that was purposely because I wanted to get back on the board in the middle of the lake just to make sure that wouldn’t be an issue. haha. I felt like I had a good grasp on it, and I’m actually going again tomorrow. I’m looking really forward to it. It’s something fun and active that doesn’t feel like a chore, and that’s wonderful. And it’s a good non-scale victory too. If I hadn’t lost the weight, would I be able to do this? Paddle boards have a weight limit, ya know! Plus, balancing, being fit enough to paddle for long periods of time, and so on. While on the board the last time, standing in the middle of the lake, I almost got emotional. I wanted to go back and thank the old me. It was her, after all, who decided to get up and jump on the DDR pad, and make it a routine.

On the subject of DDR, I MISS IT! I think I need to invest in a soft pad so I can play more often. I think that might help bring back some of the joy in fitness. I began a new Jillian program about six weeks ago. It’s Jillian’s Body Revolution (reviews to come soon - and there are a lot! It’s a 90 day, 12 workout program!) and I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to realize that football runs or fast feet is incredibly similar to DDR moves! I used to hate fast feet until I was able to find a way to relate it to DDR. Woohoo! 

How’s summer going for everyone?

Have you recently tried something you’ve wanted to try?

Losing your way during a health journey

Hey guys! I can’t believe June is here! Seems like the year just started, right? Wow! All I know is that I am so happy for the summer weather. It seems I tolerate the cold less and less as the years go by and thrive on the sunshine that comes with spring and summer. I definitely fall victim to the winter blahs and this year was no exception, so I’m really glad summer is nearby. 

On the subject of blah’s, this is a blog entry that I’ve been trying to write for several months. No joke, I have started it probably twenty times. I stop halfway through, I save it, and I never go back to finishing it. If you’re reading this, well, first of all, your awesome and secondly, I actually finished and managed to put it up! It’s hard for me to say what I’m about to say, but I think it’s important, too. I want to inspire people but there are some parts of this health journey that haven’t been all peaches and cream and rainbows and unicorns, and it’s important to touch on base of that as well.

I sometimes (or oftentimes) feel like a fraud, or a liar, or just someone who is misleading. And the reason I feel that way is because I try very hard to be positive, because I truly believe that we need more positivity in the world. There is so much negativity right now and I’d rather be a light than a shadow. And I fully believe that encouragement and positivity is necessary in this journey. A weight loss or a healthy journey/lifestyle is already an extremely positive experience, but is also can be extremely stressful, or at least it is for me. I’ll be honest: things have been kind of rough for a while. I’m not sure when, where, or even IF this has exactly happened, but somewhere along the lines, I think I lost my why. Or maybe my reasons for starting a health journey were never that great in the first place (if you didn’t know, I began my journey after a fight with a former friend), or maybe I never had a why in the first place and always just thought I did. 

Right now, I work out every day, twice a day; an hour run, and a Jillian or strength workout in the evenings. I rarely take a rest day, even when injured (which I’ve been dealing with injuries for a while now). While I’m not as strict with my diet as I have been in the past, I’m stricter than I was last year. If I eat something I deem unhealthy, I feel an intense amount of guilt. I track and count calories, and doing that at the end of the day really tends to bum me out, sometimes even triggering some panic attacks or guilt at eating. Crazy that one would feel guilty over doing something they need to do to survive, right? Rest days are also a major bummer because I don’t feel like I deserve to eat when I don’t do something to burn it off, and therefore I don’t take them much, even when injuries arise. Back in November, I took almost the whole month off while I dealt with an injury (and a cold that took forever to go away) and it really messed with my psyche, and it’s stuck with me. Back in November, my mind constantly raced, always thinking about my workouts or lack thereof, terrified of what the scale would say if I hopped on it, constantly thinking of all the weight I was putting on eating bowls of chicken soup and crackers. I began panicking about the idea of gaining even a single pound. I was taking to people I hadn’t talked to in years, getting compliments of my new and slimmer silhouette, and suddenly it got me wondering why. Why? People I haven’t talked to in years, who were never interested in getting to know me or keep in touch are suddenly so interested in me. Is it because I’ve lost weight? I like the attention, I love the compliments. I mean, who doesn’t like the compliments after working super hard!? A lot of people are used to the changes I’ve made now, so when I run into someone new, I like hearing the compliments. I think they matter more to me now than they did when I was first starting out because they help keep me motivated. But with all this attention comes the questions and those fears. What happens if I happen to gain a little bit back? Whether it’s because I’m sick, injured, or just fell off the bandwagon for a few weeks. Will I suddenly be forgotten again because I’ve put weight on? What is it with people telling me I’m suddenly a funny girl and worth it, when I’m the same girl I was 100lbs ago? Sometimes I feel like everything is wrapped up around my weight, I measure myself in numbers. Weight, calories, minutes exercised. This has always been on the back of my mind during this health journey, but since November, it’s been on the forefront of my mind; a daily thought. I feel like I’m working out crazy amounts, eating strictly healthy, exercising while in a lot of pain, and right now really struggling with trying to enjoy it all. I look at my body, and I’m not happy with it. Where as I used to be able to see changes I’ve made, all I see are flaws and the desire to work out more and eat healthier. Is this even possible? But I’m still not happy with it, and so I’m not sure where I am. Even more, when I think back to my why and my reasons to begin this whole journey, I can’t even remember them. 

I’m not sure what to do, who to go to, but I know that I need something or someone. I need answers somewhere. I know I can’t be the only one who’s experienced this, but I’ve not had much luck finding them. It’s hard to talk about though, and I hope that this might encourage others to come out and talk about it, too! I want this blog to be a positive place, but also accurate, and right now this is where I am. Sometimes I feel like I need to start over again. Give the treadmill a rest and start playing DDR or find something new that recharges my mind. Find my enjoyment again. What used to be so much fun is now a chore, and this scares me also, because this is a lifestyle. It’s not something that I can quit doing. But what I’m doing right now is not healthy either. What scares me the most is that I feel like I don’t feel like I have much control over my life. I feel like I’m being controlled by some kind of thing in my mind that I can’t pinpoint, and that’s why I think somewhere along the way, I’ve lost something. I know something is not right, but I’m not sure how to fix it. 

Have you ever felt this way or know someone who has? 

Fitbit Charge HR review.

First I have to apologize: I wrote this review months ago (back in October - I'm trying to edit to make it slightly more accurate but if it seems a little off, it's because it's a bit old) and totally forgot to post it up. I still feel the same way as I did when I first wrote this, though, and I've added a note at the bottom.

This review might be a bit late because I don’t know if you can still buy the Charge HR’s, or if you can just get the Charge HR 2’s now, so this will be a review on Fitbits as a whole. I got a Fitbit Charge HR for Christmas in 2015 and I feel like I can finally give a review on it now that I’ve had it for over year, dealt with customer service over several different issues, and used it daily. 

Let me say that I like my Fitbit, and I like the information it gives me. It’s interesting knowing how I sleep (or how it *thinks* I sleep; sometimes I find that a bit inaccurate), I’ve wanted to know my heart rate from the beginning, and knowing how many steps or miles I walk in a day was great. It helped me keep track of my goal to log in 1000 active miles in 2016. The app is pretty user friendly, easy for people like me to get (sometimes it takes me a few tries to grasp it all) and I was concerned about that because I don’t have an iPhone (or a smart phone in general, just a 5th generation iPod touch). I like knowing all the information it can give me. It’d say it goes for any Fitbit that you may have. So things like that are great. Is it 100% accurate? Well, no. I get quite a bit of steps in when I’m sitting on the couch knitting. ;) The other day I was stretching my hands overhead and standing in one place and all of a sudden I felt that vibration against my wrist that I had met my 10k step goal, just by stretching. I’m not sure how accurate the heart rate monitor is, and I know that soon after Christmas there was that whole big thing about Fitbit being sued and not being accurate. That never bothered me. It gives me a general idea, which I like. I can track my workouts, it helps keep me accountable. Rest days make me feel like a lazy sloth because I’m not meeting that goal (which hurts and helps someone like me, which I’ve touched base on in previous issues about Fat Girl Mentality and the possible fact that maybe I went about getting healthy all wrong) so, that could be a pro or a con depending on how you look at it.

So while I do like the device. I like it when it is WORKING. I’ve had a lot of issues with my Fitbit breaking and falling apart. I wash it as per the directions on their website, I don’t shower with it on. I take it off immediately after a sweaty workout and wipe the sweat off of it. It KILLED me to walk up the 4 flights of stairs to go down the water slide and not have all those darn steps count because it would probably get wet and therefore ruined. I’m not hard on it at all, that I think at least. I work out with it on, obviously, I mean it’s called FITbit, I take it off when I shower, clean it, sleep with it on and I am currently on my 3rd replacement since Christmas. In my experience my Fitbit Charge HR has lasted approximately six to twelve weeks before falling apart. The side button falling off, air bubbles getting in the band, etc. Customer service was great the first couple of times and replaced it for free, but this last time (with still two months left in the one year warranty) it’s been absolutely deplorable. Constantly telling me about the new Fitbit’s, the color I originally had being unavailable (I had one in teal and it’s been phased out as they go on to the Charge HR 2, so I was only able to choose between two colors), getting told one thing from one Customer Service Representative, but then getting told something completely different from another one, asking a question and being ignored over four times before finally I started getting snippy to get my question answered. It’s so frustrating. I get that you they made a new Fitbit and it’s considered an upgrade to what I had, but my Charge HR isn’t even a year old yet, I’m on my 4th one (3rd replacement) and I honestly believe that something that was $149 should last longer than 6-12 weeks. 

Do I recommend the Charge HR or Fitbit in general? Well, I’m not sure. Some people I know have never had an issue with their Fitbits and love them. Some have never had their Fitbit break but just don’t like the device. Others are like me: they like the device, but it’s constantly breaking. And now that I’m getting the runaround from Fitbit’s customer service, mixed together with the fact that I’ve had a terrible experience with these things breaking, I have no idea what to say. I honestly don’t. I love the device when it works. I love the device when I call customer service and can get customer service, not a constant feeling that I’m stupid and that they want me to drop another $149 on their new device. Why should I do that when this device obviously didn’t work well for me, especially when I’m really getting the runaround and I’m just not pleased with the customer service? It’s all a big question mark.

I’m not sure how long this new replacement will last. Frankly, I am not confident that it’ll last longer than 6-12 weeks because that has been my experience. In the mean time, I’m going to look at all the different fitness trackers I can find (anyone have any suggestions where I might find real people reviews on this, by the way?) and decide, because I like the idea of a fitness tracker, even if it does kind of make me wonder if it’s the best for me. Do I recommend the Fitbit? If you don’t get a defective one, sure. ;)

----

Okay, so back to the present again, that last replacement is barely holding on. Just this week I had an issue where it stopped working. It's been superglued together twice. It lasted exactly four months, to the date before falling off. I glued it back together with E6000, and that help hold it together for another month or so. The band is now separating and it has major syncing issues. I've been looking in to Garmin trackers, which seem really interesting, but I'm still not 100% sure. I don't want to lose all those Fitbit badges I've earned over the years, I'm familiar with the Fitbit app, and I have no idea of the Charge 2 is a good step up or not. Phew! Why am I so addicted to the tracker?! 

Jillian Michaels Six Week Six Pack - Level 2

Look up cruel and unusual in the dictionary and you may very well see Jillian’s face. I’m not even kidding. I’ll be honest: Level 2 scared me. I did another program in between Level 1 and 2 because it intimidated me so much! But finally did Level 2 and I’m not going to lie. It was hard, but it’s also probably one of my favorite workouts. And here’s the rundown! Basheerah and Matty are back. Matty is still the modifier and Basheerah is the advanced, but Jillian has Matty hold on to a weight, which was the main modification in Level 1. You start with your warmup, like always, and it’s your regular warm up except…THERE ARE BURPEES IN THE WARM UP. Well, not exact burpees, but up-downs which are basically a burpee without the jump at the end. Isn’t that a bunch of crap? ;) Who thinks of burpees in the warmup. Oh. Yeah. Some crazy lady named Jillian. ;). A few other moves; lunges, squats, that sort of stuff to get your muscles loose and then you begin to torture yourself. It’s all worth it!

Like in Level 1, you do one long circuit, and repeat it a second time going at a quicker pace. I held on to one 8lb dumb bell the whole time. You begin stepping into lunge and doing lunge with chops, where you’re basically wood-chopping to one side. Then you go to an oblique crunch with your weight up, touching your elbow to knee. Drop the weight and do jumping jackknives. Yes. Jumping jackknives. Repeat the lunge chops and the oblique crunch on the other side, and then you move on to low to high. This move is where you are holding the weight up high up in front of you over your head, and then twisting and pivoting into a 180, and dropping into a lunge. After that, you do repeater knees with the weight. Jillian takes mercy on you for two seconds - she lets you drop the weight, and then get into plank and do plant twists. Repeat low to highs on the other side as well as repeater knees. Next you do a lunge twist with a pass through, which I actually really liked. Lunge forward and twist, same leg lunge back, and pass the dumbbell under the front leg. Then she had you do light house swings, which I also enjoyed. Swinging your arm out straight in front of you and turning your hip and pivoting on the ball of your foot side to side. Next she has you do bicycle crunches, and after that you repeat the twisting lunge with a pass on the other wise, but instead of light house again, she has you do dumbbell swings, which are like swinging a sledgehammer. That’s always fun, right? 

Now the fun begins. Get into plank. Now. Plank moguls. After that, you have my sympathies, because she has you doing t-stand kicks. That’s where you start in plank and move into side plank, and then kick your foot out. And then back into plank, and do so on the opposite side. Those are tough. It got a little bit better for me when I realized to keep my hands pointed straight out in front of me and not turn my wrists. Otherwise, I’m asking for a broken wrist because I lose my balance easily. After that, you do double crunches, and as if she’s not evil then you do hollow man. And then flip over into mountain climbers. 

And guess what? You get to do it all over again, but at a quicker pace! On level 1, it seems like the quicker pace was almost too much, but this one wasn’t too bad. Even going at my own pace, what I felt was safe, was pretty much on time with the girls. So that was awesome! Not that modifying is bad at all, you still get an incredible workout when you modify, but it kind of kills my ego a bit. ;) 

Seriously though?? I really like this one, as hard as it is! Maybe because there isn’t lot of mat work, which we all know I hate. It’s more standing ab work. With how much I didn’t want to do it, and how bad Level 1 hurt my back, I’m surprised by how much I liked it! I expected this to be a terribly painful experience. It is, kind of. Haha! But it’s one that I like afterwards, which I can’t say I had that experience as much with Level 1 just because how bad it hurt afterwards. I’d say the DVD is worth it just for Level 2. I didn’t take measurements and I didn’t take my weight reliably but I definitely notice a lot of changes in my body. Positive changes! 

Revisiting Ripped In 30

I decided to revisit Ripped In 30 in between Level 1 and Level 2 of Six Week Six Pack (6W6P). RI30 has always been a favorite of mine (if not my absolute favorite program), and doing it again was great on so many levels! Six Week Six Pack really hurt my back and let me know that I may have lost some core strength while taking my Jillian break, so I thought, why not go back. Plus, Level 2 of 6W6P was sooo intimidating. I didn’t think I was strong enough to do it, so what a better way to get myself back in the groove than to get ripped?!

The first time I did Ripped In 30, I had been doing Jillian workouts for just a couple months, but it was the second Jillian program I ever did. Now that I’ve done a few different programs and a few different people, it was nice to go back and see how far I’ve come. Definitely a non-scale victory! It was great showing myself how far I’ve come physically! Since I’ve already given the rundown of what each week entails in previous entries, I won’t do that again, but feel free to go back and read those entries.

Week 1, I loved. It was great going back to Jillian and doing the 3-2-1 plan again. And I felt that it was a great way to reboot myself and my system again and get an all around whole body workout. It was all pretty basic and getting the moves down, but even for me, I still felt challenged. This time around I used 8 pound dumbbells and did fine with it. My first time around I used 5lbs.

Week 2 can burn in hell. I only did this one for five days because I’m pretty sure this workout made my back hurt something terrible - I had the same issue with 6W6P, so it makes me wonder if I’m doing something wrong or if I’ve pulled something. Since I’ve never been to a gym and never had anyone tell me that my form is absolutely correct, it very well could be that I’ve been doing all this wrong. But this time, I felt more challenged than I did the first time! 

Last time around, I hated Week 3. This time, I loved it! I can’t believe that I found duckwalks and bear crawls so hard! I mean, yes, they’re difficult, but I feel like I had them down! The whole entire workout was great. Challenging, fun, but I still loved every minute! 

And Week 4 is still my favorite, even with the burpees, which I’ll be honest - are not as scary as they used to be! That’s an amazing feeling! And at the end, the speech Jillian gives about brought me to tears. Again. I’ve been doing two workouts a day; an hour of cardio and then a strength DVD or youtube workout that’s anywhere form 30-45 minutes for over two years. And sometimes I just feel like a zombie. It’s just gotten to be routine now that I forget what I’m doing. Wow. I’m actually doing something! Not a lot of people do this, and her speech was another reminder of that! 

I didn’t take measurements or track my weight this time around, but I feel like I’ve come a long way. I can tell that when I read my old posts about this workout program. It was so nice to revisit and go back to the basics. It was like going through my old closet of bigger sized clothes, just to see how far I’ve come only fitness style. I think I need to do it more often! 

Jillian Michaels' Six Week Six Pack - Level 1

Jillian Michaels Six Week Six Pack - Level 1

Here’s the rundown for Level 1 of Six Week Sick Pack. This is a six week program where you do Level 1 for three weeks and then Level 2 for three weeks. Like every Jillian workout, there are two girls who do the advanced version and the modified. Basheerah is the advanced and Matty is the modifier. In this workout, Basheerah has a weight and Matty doesn’t. Get ready because Jillian is a mean woman and you have been warned. 

After a quick warmup that consists of military march, squats with x’s, lunges, and rotations, you begin the first circuit. In this workout, you do one long circuit that’s about 15 minutes long, and then repeat the circuit again, going quicker. You go up and down from doing mat work to standing ab work in this workout. You begin with knee thrusts and then backwards lunges with back extensions. You move on to burpees, and then squat rotation, where you squat down and then twist so you touch your right elbow to left knee and vice versa. After that is side lunges with a side bend. I had to drop the weight for that one. 

Next you hit the mat and extend your right leg out straight and your right arm straight, and then crunch up. After that she has you roll over and your do supermans with a lat pull. Raise up into plank position and do plank jacks. Next you do the same arm and leg crunch on the opposite side. Then she has you doing double leg stretch, which she says is a pilates move. That one was tough and I learned my core wasn’t as strong as I thought it was! Afterwards, Jillian has you doing side crunches, and then diagonal getups. Next comes extended walking plank, which I really liked, and then repeat side plank and the diagonal getups on the other side.

And next comes the last five moves that make me want to cry. Okay, not really. Well. Who knows! Even Jillian admits it’s cruel but for our own goods! It’s side plank with knee twists and spider planks with alternating legs. Both moves I imagine are what the people who are stuck in hell are doing. ;) Then comes mountain climbers, and you repeat side plank and knee twists on the other side. Finish up the circuit with bridge kicks. 

That’s it! Now you just get to repeat it, and faster! ;) 

I really liked this workout, but I will be honest. When you do the circuit over faster, some of the moves seem less safe. My back actually hurt consistently while doing this workout. I’m not sure if it’s because I may have been doing the moves wrong (I don’t think so though), using too heavy of a dumb bell (I was using 8’s), or if I was just trying to go too fast and keep up with Jillian. Once I remembered that I didn’t *have* to keep up with Jillian, it helped ease my back some, but that kind of killed my ego, and for that, I’m thinking that may be why Level 1 of Six Week Six Pack isn’t my favorite. It could also be the fact that I still really hate ab work. ;). Nothing will ever change! 

While I didn’t take measurements or really track my weight, I did notice significant changes when I looked in the mirror. Definitely was starting to get definition by the end of the three weeks, which was super exciting! Before this, I really wasn’t doing a lot of ab work, so this was really encouraging to see. As always, Jillian delivers!

Well, that lasted long.

Well, that lasted long.

My breakup with Jillian, that is. I was shopping at Sam’s Club back in January and I saw Six Week Six Pack for $8. It just sat there taunting and taunting me. Buy me, buy me. You’ve been doing the GymRa youtube videos for six months and you’ve been thinking of switching back, perfect opportunity to buy me, buy me. 

I gave in to the temptation and bought it, and a couple days later I started the program, or at least began Level 1. I’ll go further in depth soon (I promise) but after doing Level 1 for just over three weeks, I switched to Ripped In 30, which I loved the second time around even more! (I will touch base on that also soon!) But then I realized that it was time to buck up, and do Level 2 of 6W6P. I’ll be honest, this one *scared* me. The moves looked SO HARD! And Level 1, I learned that my core wasn’t as strong as I thought and it made my back ache. But once I did it, I loved it. 

And since mid-to-late January, I’ve been doing Jillian workouts again. That breakup lasted long. ;) But it’s been nice to go back to something familiar. Sometime soon I’d like to try some new workouts that I’ve been holding off on trying (such as One Week Shred, particularly the strength workout) and find some new workouts on GymRa’s youtube and maybe make up a schedule of a new routine a day to see what happens. I’m not sure if I’ve hit another plateau or what. I put about 7-10lbs (depending on the day) back on in November and no matter what I do, I can’t seem to get those 10lbs off. It’s only a few pounds, but technically, I’ve never hit my goal weight since starting this journey. I have my “realistic” goal weight, my “unrealistic” goal weight (which is more like a dream weight, who doesn’t want to weigh 120lbs?) My body may just be at the weight it likes to be with, and if so, I’ll have to come to terms with that. I’m still not happy with my body and I’m not sure I ever will be. That’s a scary thought, because I’ve hopefully got another 55+ years in this body! (That puts me at 84+). But I’m willing to try and trick it and see what’s going on. Probably eating the same thing over and over again and running on the treadmill every day for an hour doesn’t help; I know I should mix it up, but that’s where I’m hoping strength comes in because I just love running so much. I never thought I’d be the girl that would get up and go for a run. 

I haven’t forgotten about this blog. I want to inspire others but I also want to make this an accurate account of what goes on when someone loses a lot of weight, and just like any journey, whether it’s a health journey, a weight loss journey, a journey from here to there, there are bumps in the road. Occasionally you have to go in another direction. But even though we all know that, it’s still hard for me to talk about those bumps in the road. 

Until next time! (Which should be very soon!)

Natalie Yco's Cardio Kickboxing with jump rope.

Sorry for the delay! Here’s the fourth workout I began doing consistently after breaking up with Jillian. It’s a Natalie Yco cardio kickboxing workout with a jump rope and it’s definitely one of my top five favorite workouts, if not my all-time favorite workout. Words can’t possibly express how much I adore this workout so I won’t even bother gushing about it, I’ll get right down to the nitty gritty and talk about the workout itself - just know that I love it and it is AMAZING!

Natalie starts you out with doing a quick warm up, jumping jacks, lunges with rotations, swinging legs, and punches. She then has you go right into the workout, jumping rope for a minute. The way she designed this workout is you do one minute jump roping, and then another minute doing a kickboxing move, repeat jump rope, repeat with a new kickboxing move. I don’t actually use a jump rope, but I mimic the moves and hold my three pound weights during the jump rope sections to get a bit of an extra calorie burn. After your first time jump roping, your first kickboxing move is a move where you turn to the side into lunge and punch, come up and punch forward for two, and then two punches down in squat, and then from squat you move to lunge. I know that sounds like a lot, but the video will show it better. You twist to the right for the first 30 seconds, and then twist to the left for the next 30 seconds. After another minute of jump roping, your kickboxing move for the next minute is a squat, front kick, squat, front kick with the opposite leg. Get ready to feel the burn! Jump roping, and then a side lunge to a side kick. 30 seconds going right, and then 30 seconds going left. I really like this one because - nerd alert! - I was/still am a wrestling fan growing up, and side kicks always remind me of Shawn Michaels. Sweet chin music, anyone? Haha! After jump rope, you do my next favorite move is where you bring your knee up, punch with your elbow, bring your knee up again, and then a back kick. After 30 seconds you switch legs, and then start jump roping again! After jump roping, you shuffle side to side punching for a minute. The next moves are three kicks, a front kick and a jumping jack, alternating legs, and then a fun move where you punch and bring your knee up. That one reminded me of dancing! Then in jumping lunges, she has you punching out to the side. Next, she has you do a round kick, and a jumping jack alternating legs. After that, you do jumping jacks one last time, and then your final move is two jumping jacks, and two front kicks, one kick per leg. And then it’s time to cool down, and you have earned it! 

I LOVE this workout. I love cardio and this is a cardio kickboxing workout. And I’ve been a big fan of Natalie’s for a long time, so this workout was just made for me! (Okay, not made for me, but I can pretend, right?!) 

If you’re interested, you can check it out and do the workout yourself with the link below!

Love the "resolutioner"!

Happy New Year! Am I ever happy seeing 2016 end. The last half of the year was awful (injuries, illness, depression *really* sidelined me) but I'm finally getting back on the bandwagon and have been going strong for a month or so now. It's amazing how working out makes me feel so much better, and how amazing it is to be UNINJURED! I'll touch base on this later (hoping to be more consistent with updating again).

Today I wanted to touch base on something I've noticed a lot on Facebook. I see a lot of people make comments about how they avoid the gym these first couple of weeks until all the "resolutioners" give up on their New Years resolution to get healthy and go to the gym. I see people make comments or share memes like, "your resolution is my lifestyle." That annoys me. With that argument, your vow to get healthy was someone else's lifestyle until you adopted it. And that someone else did not make you feel like you were going to fail or give up because you're still going for it and therefore have made it a lifestyle. There are a lot of broken people in the fitness world trying to fix themselves for whatever reason - when I started my workout journey, I felt like I was at rock bottom. So be kind. Be less judgmental. Don't just automatically assume that someone is going to give up, try to keep them from giving up! Shoot a smile to the new face at the gym or on the walking path and help them feel welcome.

Another thing I've noticed are people who are so down on others who are looking for what they see as a quick fix, especially if you've succeeded in weight loss. I've succeeded in weight loss at home, doing it on my own. And I know a lot of people could actually benefit from getting off the couch. Myself included. But I also think about my journey as a whole. Would I have been as successful if I had started this journey any other time? Would I have failed and had to do it again? Why did I wait to long to start getting healthy in the first place? When you talk to someone who thinks diet and exercise might be hard, instead of complaining about them on Facebook or thinking about how "lazy" because they apparently want an "easy fix" ask them why they think diet and exercise is so hard. Are they uneducated about nutrition? Are they worried of the expense? Do they think a healthy diet means a life of restriction and saying no all the time? Do they think exercise is physically painful or that they can't do it? Do they not have the support at home? Do they not have support or confidence in themselves? Instead of sitting there judging and making assumptions that they want an easy fix, find out why they're hesitant to start. If they're interested in medication that may aid in weight loss and you think you are above the person because you have your healthy lifestyle and you work hard, ask about their time, and if they can manage a few minutes. Most effective workouts take around 30 minutes a day. A lot of people don't know that! And if they do, don't judge them for their "easy fix" - who knows. Maybe when their "easy fix" starts kicking in, they may gain confidence in themselves to seek other options.

Happy and healthy 2017!