Still here and kicking...

I know, I've been MIA for a while now. I pop up with the occasional recipe but otherwise I've been a little radio silent. My life has been less than silent but that hecticness has eaten into my ability to do much else. Not an excuse as much as a word of explanation and apology. I'm most definitely still here and still plugging away at this whole life/fitness/health balance.

Where to start?

Well, I completed another round of Whole30 in January with a pretty kickass group of women. This was my 3rd Whole30 and I'll tell you, if you're thinking about trying it, you really need to rope at least one friend into doing it with you. The first round I did a year ago was with my husband and a friend and the 2nd round I did in Sept. on my own. After the experience of doing it solo, I wouldn't recommend it. Not only was it harder at home flying solo, it's also really nice to have a group of people or at least one other person to bounce ideas off of, to share recipes with, and to complain to/commiserate with on the days when you're just not feeling it (and there will be more than a few of those days!) Over the course of the 30 days:

• I ditched my vicious love affair with sugar (which SO needed to happen after the holiday fudge got the best of me. It was BAD. Like polishing off an entire batch of fudge on my own on more than one occasion bad.)

• I reset my taste buds to appreciate more natural, less processed foods. I was even craving Brussel sprouts, something I never would have thought I'd say! I tried new foods and found quite a few new recipes that are now staples even off Whole30.

• I found myself better able to think about whether I was eating for hunger or comfort. As a lifelong emotional eater, this was big. I know I'm going to always have to fight that fight but having such strict rules around what I could and couldn't eat, helped me to pause instead of mindlessly stuffing food in my mouth. I  don't always take the time to really think about why I want a food and whether it is worth it to me. During Whole30 you have to think before you eat pretty much everything and that pause was what I needed to really examine my why for eating. While I'm no longer strictly adhering to Whole30 now, I still have that ingrained pause button which is helping me to make better choices about what I consume.

• I lost a ton of the bloat I was walking around with after the holidays. Over the course of the month I dropped about an inch each off of my waist and hips and lost 6 lbs. While that's not a huge number, I wasn't looking to lose a lot of weight. What I did see was progress, more leanness and the beginnings of abs peeking through all of which was enough to keep me motivated and excited about the progress I am making. My challengers also had great things to say about the program and lost weight and inches, ditched aches and pains in their joints, were sleeping better, and jump started the year feeling great about their progress.

What about since finishing Whole30? 

I've finished another round of Core De Force, this time the deluxe calendar. This was my first round really following the nutrition plan and I'll tell you, I finally got the abs I was looking for. This was my 2nd full round of the program and I feel like a total badass doing it. Could I take someone in a dark alley? Maybe not but I certainly could give it my best effort! This program is FUN and I needed something fun to kick off the new year! Highlights of the program for me:

• killer ab work but without those annoying crunches

• hello booty work! All that kicking not only works your abs but it also works your booty from every angle. ;)

• I won't say that I mastered the agility ladder because it's a work in progress but I didn't die so there's that. I did do more than my fair share of tripping on it but that's to be expected. I have a love/hate relationship with the ladder workouts but always ended them feeling pretty accomplished about surviving them so that felt good.

• badassery (if that was a word) - I am probably the least coordinated person in the world but by the end of this program, I've got the moves down. Roundhouse kick? Switch kick? Bring it! The move breakdown is great and the perk of doing a workout at home is you can pause the workout if you're neurotic like me and do it until you get it without fear of looking stupid, being judged or slowing the class down.

I realized after finishing my 3rd round of CDF that I was ready for a change. While I love the MMA moves, I was ready for something new. My body was getting used to the program and I needed something new to catch my interest, build in more weight training and shake me out of my workout rut. So I'm moving on to a hybrid workout program made up of P90X3, Hammer & Chisel, Core De Force and T25 Beta/Gamma. 

Beachbody has this new All Access pass available for their On Demand and I'm making the most of it and trying out a ton of different programs. (If you want to check it out, read up on it here!) I'm also trying to end each day with yoga and the Beachbody Yoga Studio is helping me do that. No running out to make a class on someone else's schedule. I just log in to BOD on my laptop in my bedroom and do a little pre-bed stretch. Love it!

Want to know more about All Access? Check this out for more info and shoot me a message with any questions you have!

After a 2 weeks of floundering a little on my nutrition, I'm back on the wagon and trying to stick as close to Whole30 as I can most of the time. If you've heard of the 80/20 rule, I'm adapting it to be following Whole30 type eating 80% of the time and the other 20% of the time, not worrying so much about it (think Friday night pizza!) My body responded really well to being off of dairy, grains and sugar and much as I miss my pizza and sugar, I also love the way I felt without them in my body so I'm trying to work out a better, healthier balance with my nutrition. 

Here's this week's meal plan in case you're wondering what that looks like:

So that's my week/month in a nutshell.

The long and short of it is that I'm here, working hard on myself and pouring love into my challengers who are doing the same. I have an awesome group running this month and am gearing up for my next group that kicks off March 6th. The theme is Spring Forward, which crazy to think we're about to do in a few weeks! If you want a little help focusing forward, fill out the info form below and I'll send you the details!

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