I am 12 days into the 21 day fix. How am I feeling? AMAZING! Being honest, there were times I didn’t stick 100% to the diet. I’ve eaten A LOT more protein than allotted, but I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing. I have my shake in the morning and after my workouts, then I fill in the gaps with everything I’m supposed to be eating. If I’m hungry though, I’m going to eat. I’ve been trying to add in more protein/veggies during those times and staying away from the carbs. I did sneak a cookie one day and even had some macaroni and cheese for dinner last night, but my portions are so much more controlled now. I made broccoli macaroni and cheese two nights ago and we STILL have leftovers. That’s insane! Typically, if we have ANY left overs, it’s not much. I would just gorge and eat until it was all gone, or I’d pick at it in between meals. No good.
I think I’m doing rather well. I could probably do better with the diet portion, but overall, I am eating so much better than I was before. Before this, I was having Ramen noodles EVERY day for lunch. I’m telling you, that stuff is awful for you! Now, I have a nice, big salad every single day. I even dress it up too with hard boiled eggs and tuna! So much better than any Ramen! For breakfast, I was having either just coffee, or a large muffin that left me hungry by lunch. Now, I’m having a shake in the morning, coffee, then steel cut oatmeal. It’s so fulfilling. That doesn’t even include my snacks! I have two snacks a day. Peanut Butter Greek Yogurt and a banana, then a slice of whole wheat bread with peanut butter and strawberries! I was always starving on the way home and absolutely famished by dinner time. Now, I don’t have that issue. That means I am not rushing to eat the quickest thing I can get my hands on when I get home. I have that time to prepare and actually THINK about what I’m putting into my body for dinner. I’ve also been pairing all of my dinners with a small salad, so I eat less of the bad stuff and more of the good. It was becoming REALLY hard to cook separate meals for myself and my son, so I made a good compromise. We eat relatively healthy, but I still love my pasta! I just make sure I pair everything with extra veggies/salad, so I can still have that stuff, but I’m not eating a BOATload of it. This way, we can still enjoy our spaghetti and garblic bread without killing my nutrition entirely.
I do feel much more energized though, which is a BIG thing for me. It’s exhausting being a working mother. I feel like all I do is run around and try to cram 500 things into a day that only supports 100. I’m managing though and I can say that it hasn’t been all that hard to work this program into my daily life. It took some tinkering around to figure out a good balance and rhythm, but now it is second nature. I really do feel like I’m building a lifestyle change, not just a 21 day routine. I’ve rid pretty much all of the unhealthy food in the house too. We’ve gone to the grocery store on numerous occasions and have replaced those items with healthier options. Emerson is being loaded up on much more fruit and yogurt than goldfish crackers for snacks too.
Now, let’s talk about the physical changes. My arms are ROCKING! I’ve always been VERY self-conscious of my arms. I’ve always felt like they were so big since losing all of that weight 11 years ago. I never took that time to really tighten and tone them. To me, I was just left with these big, bulky things that stuck out like a sore thumb whenever I wore a tank top. For years, I’d suffer in 90 degree heat in a long sleeve shirt because I was really embarrassed of my arms. It was awful! It took me a long time to just accept that this is the way I am. Even still, I always had that fear that people were staring at my arms. I’d never even wear short sleeves to work. I am not making this up. This week, I wore short sleeves TWICE. I’ve been at my job for NINE years. This is the first time I’ve worn a short sleeve shirt to work in NINE YEARS! You know what, it feels freaking amazing! It feels liberating. It may sound stupit to some people, but it feels so freaking good to me. I even received some compliments from the daycare staff AND the pediatrician over my arms. That made me feel so good. I have always been so embarrassed of these things. It’s incredible that I am actually ENJOYING showing them off!
I did measure myself after about 1.5 weeks on the fix and I lost around 10 inches altogether from my legs, arms, chest, waist, hips, bum, thighs, and calves. I’m not sure what results I’ll get over the next 10 days. I hope I lose a few more inches. I’ve actually gained a couple of pounds, which is probably all attributed to muscle. I have to buy some heavier weights though. The workouts are starting to become too easy for me. That’s on my agenda for the weekend. Then, I can really kick it up over the next 10 days to REALLY get some better results. I plan on continuing the workouts well after this first cycle, but I just want to show people that change really is possible if you put the time in. I’m not even using that much time to do this. I’m just shopping smarter and dedicating 30 minutes every night to work out. There were times that I did double up workouts, but that was my choice. You certainly do NOT have to do that. When you’re so far in it though, it just feels good to give yourself that extra workout.
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