Holidays Without the Weight Gain?

WARNING: Long, AWESOME post.

So, I did something kinda awesome. I finished the WHOLE ENTIRE P90X3 program.

Yeah. That's 90 days of hard core workouts. Nailed it. Well, sorta.

I didn't follow the nutrition plan as strictly as I probably should have, cuz you know, there was cake occasionally, or pumpkin waffles...*drool*

Anyways, that's where my Shakeology comes in, like a superhero I might add. See, this stuff is like magic. It reduces my sweet tooth cravings (which are heavy duty), gives me all the nutrients I SHOULD be getting from vegetables,  and keeps me full for about 3 hours (thus preventing unnecessary snacking, like me driving to Einstein's multiple times a day). And it tastes FANTASTIC. *score*

And now for the results: I can do twice as many pull-ups as I could when I first started, I can curl 20# dumbbells (for a little while), and I can do lots of funky push-ups. I feel pretty cool. AND I maintained my weight the whole 90 days, through anniversary celebrations, birthdays, family get-togethers, and kids leaving their pop tarts lying around the house. Winning.

SO WHAT? I'll tell you: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are gonna crash down on us all WITHIN the next 90 days. What's your plan? Would you maybe like a safety net so you don't gain an extra 15-20 lbs? You COULD even lose weight through the holidays...just sayin.

I've got a support group for other sweet tooth mommas like me that starts October 19th. Wanna know more? Just comment and I'll give you all the info, cuz we're friends, and I like you!

-Brooke

Happy New Year! Here are the T25 Results!

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Hey Friends!  I took a little vacation for Christmas and New Years...I hope you don't mind.  Did lots of fun stuff, like sleep in, play with friends and family, eat good food and enjoy the spirit of the season.  I hope you all did stuff like that too :-)

I got a new toy for my birthday last month, and for Christmas I got some sticky vinyl to use in it, so I made some stuff for our home.

But the big news is that I had a couple of KILLER catch-up days, and completed my goal of finishing T25 before the New Year.  Done :-)

Are you ready for the pictures?

And here's the "total transformation journey", whatever you want to call it.

To be perfectly honest, by the end of T25 I had stayed pretty much the same since 21 Day Fix.  Maybe lost a little tone, but my measurements were all about the same.  And since I really did eat whatever I wanted over Christmas Break, I'm definitely counting this as a win.

But now that's over, and I've started Insanity Max 30, WHICH I am loving.  No joke.  I'm done being injured and doing modifiers (except for my wrist, but I'm making it work harder) and it is kicking my butt.  AND I LIKE IT.

4 days into it and I'm already making progress. :-D

So.  What are your New Years Resolutions?

REAL.

I'm gonna keep this one short and sweet. :-)  I know you're all cheering inside, right?  I had an epiphany/duh moment.  Usually the holidays roll around and I'm thinking "Yay!  I get pies, cookies, caramels, and our family's traditional Christmas morning cream cheese French toast casserole!"  Yum.  Am I the only one that gets excited by this "excuse" to indulge?  Yeah, I thought not.  No judgment!  We're cool.  I won't tell your secret.  Anywho, this year has been a little different.  Heck yes I've been excited for these yuletide goodies, and yes, I have appreciated them adequately :-)  Trust me :-)  But there's been a noticeable change this go round:  I've actually LOST WEIGHT this month. No lies.  And this is where I get completely REAL with you.  I've shown you my transformation pictures, and at that time I gave you a deficit number.  I had lost ~26 lbs, yeah?  K.  When I decided I needed to do more than workout to be healthy, I weighed 148.8 lbs.  Which, for a woman at 5'7" put me at the high end of the "healthy" BMI range at 23.3.  Now hold on to your socks.  Today I weighed in at my lowest weight yet, 5 months later.

This is how excited I was about it.  I posted this picture even though my toes look sad; but this post is titled "REAL" so, there you go.  119.8!  That is 29 lbs EVEN.  And the last 2 of it came off this month.  So now, my BMI is 18.8, at the low end of the healthy range for my height.  Moral of the story:  If I, who STILL has to give in to my sweet tooth regularly, can LOSE WEIGHT during the peak of the weight gain season, so can YOU.  I don't do this to brag; seriously.  I do this to show you that it's possible.  I've been totally honest with you, completely upfront about what I've done, and why it's working.  I even showed you a nasty picture of my feet, which motivated me to do this:

The holidays don't have to be a time to dread the goodies and the threat of weight gain if you make it a habit BEFOREHAND to take care of yourself.  Everyone deserves to feel this awesome about themselves.  I've spent SO LONG, TOO LONG being uncomfortable in my own skin.  Have you? 

NO MORE.