Working Out - ONE YEAR Into My Fitness Journey

YOU GUYS.

52 WEEKS COMPLETE. 

ONE YEAR??????

HOW THE????

I cannot believe it.

Here's me at week 48 (May 20, 2021)

Almost 40 and feeling the best I ever have. #hardwork #consistency

I'm roughly 112-114lbs on any given day - although I really try not to focus on the number on the scale too much. I feel strong, I'm lifting back to what I was before surgery and I'm feeling good. 

Now that we're legit in summer, I'm trying to eat cleaner again and focus again on nutrition. 

I'm super proud of myself for changing how I lived, how I ate, and how I plan to live. I am more confident now, even as I get closer to 40. 

I stopped over at my mom's over the weekend, like I do almost every weekend....and my sister was home. She recently had surgery and isn't able to work out and likely won't be able to for several more weeks. So I asked if I could borrow her 20lb dumbbell.

I've been using my 15's for a while now and now that I've built back up after my short hiatus, I wanted to try going heavier.

Looks like I need to invest in some 20lb dumbbells.

This sucker is HEAVY! My shoulders were on FIRE. 

And dude. I need 20lb dumbbells! 

These are legit - hitting failure and almost dropping it on my head (ok, not really) but it felt GOOD. 

I closed out week 50 (and the start of June) well. I hit shoulders and biceps and had a really good workout. The 20lb dumbbells are making a difference for sure - at least in performance. I'm hitting failure during all my workouts by the 3rd or 4th set, which means I'm using the correct weights. 

The part I'm struggling with the most is lower body and glutes. Holy shit. I mean, I get it now - why there are dudes who are huge on top but then have chicken legs. If you're not built with good legs...they look like chicken legs.

And man, doing legs just crushes me for a few days. DOMS are insane and I just don't love lower body workouts. 

Anywho, I am feeling strong and we are less than 30 days from vacation, so I'm really trying to focus here. 

Bicep PUMP

50 weeks of working out and finally capping them shoulders! 

Working them shoulders - up to 20lbs unilaterally.

As of June 3, 2021

June 5th

June 7

June 8

June 9 - I had an in-person client meeting! Pants fit me soooo much better now!

Working on that pump

I'm beyond proud of myself for changing my lifestyle this past year. Consistency has proven to be key with everything. One day of working out won't make me fit. Just like one day of splurging a little won't ruin all my progress.

I've learned how to better manage cravings and understand diet and nutrition so much more now.

progress photos! Left is from today, June 14. Top right is from June of 2020. Bottom right is somewhere around Fall of 2020. My weight from Fall of 2020 is roughly the same as it is now. But I know my body is different. I'm lifting heavier and I'm stronger. I feel like my legs are slimmer/more toned, my waist is a bit slimmer too, I think.

I started incorporating more ab exercises into my workouts. I never really liked doing abs, so I'd just get some done because of other workouts. But I started to incorporate those more specifically now that I'm at a weight that seems to be my maintenance weight. 

I weighed in at 111.4 this morning. 

Side by side of 1 year of consistency and progress. 

I will forever have the "baby pooch" which totally sucks. It's loose skin from my pregnancies that just will not go away no matter how much fat I try to lose. It's just skin...

I would never consider a tummy tuck for what I have going on. It's not "bad enough" for me to risk a surgery like that. And the scar? No thanks. That scar runs from hip to hip. Not that I'd need a full-on tummy tuck, I think I could get away with a "mini" one - where they don't mess with the belly button at all, and just kinda you know, pulls the skin down. Anyway. I'm still not going to do anything like that because it's really not that bad. Not worth a major surgery and recovery like that. Nope. I can understand why people do it though. If I had a large amount of loose skin - for sure I'd do it. If it interfered with my daily living I'd do it. 

This is what 1 year looks like people. 

One year of consistent weight lifting. 

Of mostly eating well. 

I still eat ice cream! And candy! I'm just so much more mindful now of what goes in my mouth and what it means for my body. 

Let me tell you one thing. The way I feel wearing regular clothes now feels better than whatever food I wanted to gorge on before. You know what I mean?

The confidence I have...and how I physically feel now. I'm so excited to see how this next year goes! As I head into my 40's, I'm ready to take on the challenge of being even more fit in a year. 

Let's do this!