I missed posting when I officially completed 80 weeks! It was during that weird time between Christmas and New Year's when time doesn't count.
I've never been into fitness. I never thought I'd become the person I am currently.
I just never saw fitness as something I could do, or be good at.
I love food too much. I don't have the discipline to stick to a strict diet.
But, the more I've learned, the more I've realized that yes, I can do all these things, but if you understand the dynamics of it all, it makes more sense and you realize it's NOT all or nothing.
Even though we're in the middle of winter (even with some mild temps!) I'm already thinking about my cut for next summer.
Once December 21 hits, I'll be looking forward to those extra minutes of daylight.
I plan on giving myself 12 - 16 weeks or so for my cut. I'm using that term very lightly, here people.
I'm by no means a bodybuilder, but I don't want to use the term diet either.
Anyway.
12 - 16 weeks should allow me to lose up to 8-10lbs of body fat if I do it the right way. I don't think I need to lose that much though. We'll see how I manage throughout the rest of winter.
12 weeks is pretty aggressive for my type of lifestyle.
So I think if I give myself 16 weeks and a comfortable "cut" I can manage that. Again, I'm not exactly looking to only decrease the number on the scale, I'm looking to build more muscle as well. So if I happen to be at a heavier weight but maintaining a physique I like, I will call that success.
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| November 30, 2021 |
I think it makes sense to start my "cut" sometime in March? Late February?
I haven't been as active as I normally would be, due to my impromptu trip to Las Vegas recently. I took 3 consecutive days of rest during that time to hang with my dad.
I also seemed to have strained my left wrist and it's been painful to pull my hand up and back. It's making it difficult to grip heavy dumbbells. I can't do lat flies or back flies right now using 20lb (I barely made it through with 15's)
I have to take it easy to get this dang strain to heal. It's been bugging me for about 2 weeks now and it's just getting worse.
I'm going to try to focus on lower body/glutes/core for the next couple of weeks to try to get this wrist to heal.
I'm also going to start developing my cut plan soon. Even if I don't start it for a few months, I want to have a plan in place and a date of when I should start so I can focus.
I want to track my macros and really work on nutrition during this cut. My plan is to drop about 8lbs if possible during the 16 weeks - which would equate to .5lb per week which is good.
I'm currently weighing in around 116lbs as of late. So that's a net gain of about 4lbs from my maintenance weight.
I go back and forth on how I feel about that. My clothes fit a bit tighter for sure, but not terrible. I don't feel "fat" by any means. I'm working on my legs/glutes a lot and muscle growth is GOOD.
I need to get back on track when it comes to food. I'm letting myself enjoy the holidays and an extra coffee. But once it's go time, I'm going to need to focus.
I got a new mirror for Christmas!
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| I gotta figure out better lighting |
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| Being able to see my form while working out is pretty awesome. Also? #shouldercaps |
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| I trained shoulders and could see a definite pump after. Also, check out the vein. I'm also seeing more thicc-ness in the quads. |
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| Sorry for the blur. I was too lazy to take another one. |
I still struggled since my wrist is still bothering me. I did arms and abs and for back flies only used my 15's. For biceps I also used my 15's instead of 20's. The good thing is that I feel a huge difference and I feel like I'm barely doing anything when using the 15's! Well, to a point.
I weighed in today (December 26) at 115lbs. So, still maintaining-ish during the holidays and I have definitely been eating like I'm on holiday (lol, what am I, British?)
Starting February though, I will need to buckle down.
Closing out the year with a couple of last work outs.
It's been a few weeks since my wrist strain and I've been babying it in order to not make it worse.
It's working. Albeit slowly.
It's not super painful anymore, but I still feel some impingement.
I did an upper body workout and used lighter weights than normal again, but it felt good.
Oh and another thing?
This happened super randomly, but my friend sent me a link to this stationary bike because she saw that there was an insane 50% off deal on it.
I had thought about a stationary bike when Peloton became big. But I wasn't about to spend $3,000 on a bike. But I heard really, really good things about them.
My one friend - an old colleague actually from my very first big girl job - did a spinning class back in the day and lost 80lbs in less than a year.
EIGHTY POUNDS.
From spinning.
I've never gotten into spinning before.
But this deal was just too good to pass up.
With the discount, credit card rewards and some left over gift card money, I spent $188. Full price this bike is $399 so I think that's a freaking steal.
The reviews were also pretty good.
I don't want to pay for the Peloton app either, so I'll probably just find a free one or find some videos on YouTube.
Because of this new addition to my home gym, I want to rearrange my area. It's kind of a mess.
It's in the basement and while it's completely functional, it's definitely not an aesthetically pleasing space.
I'll do a separate post on that, but man, I'm excited about this bike! I've already watched a few videos on it and I think it's going to be a great way for me to incorporate more cardio into my current set up.
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| January 1, 2022 - first workout of the year! |
I haven't done a side by side in forever.
Figured now would be a good time!
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| Right is from June, 2020. Left is from Jan. 1, 2022 |
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| I wasn't flexing the ol' bicep in my last pic, but wanted to see the overall progression. |
I'm annoyed with myself that I never measured inches. I think that would be very telling of how my body is changing.
I think it's because I really started out casual and I didn't want to put pressure on myself. I didn't want to fail.
I made super small goals.
And now I'm just loving this lifestyle and the "high" it gives me.
I'm enjoying myself for now, but strangely enough, I'm looking forward to my cut. I think because I am interested in seeing the results now that I know a little more about health and fitness.
The last year was a lot of trial and error and what worked for me and my lifestyle. I didn't want to become the person that weighed my food and ONLY talked about fitness. I've been around those people...and it's really hard for those who are NOT in the lifestyle to understand and get engaged in conversation about it.
I get it. But I never made it "my thing" (well, other than here).
I wasn't like "Ok, friends, I'm going on this fitness journey" - a lot of my friends see me regularly enough that they don't REALLY notice.
This past summer was the most transformative for me and the first summer in my life that I've been confident in my own skin.
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| Working on my core and abs, baby! I've never had abs. Also trying to embrace my "tiger stripes" and not be self conscious about those. This body birthed two babies! |
Weighing in at 117.2lbs as of today, January 2. My lowest was 108 last summer. My goal for my cut will be 110lbs. I plan to lose the 6-8lbs over the course of 16 or so weeks.
Let's keep at it, folks!
After my birthday trip, it'll be Go Time! I'm going to start planning my menus in the next few weeks to allow time for research and tweaking.
I'm a girl who loves flavor and food. I will need ideas to keep things spicy and fun! I'm not one for plain chicken, rice and broccoli, although that's good sometimes. SEASONING, people.
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