Alright friends, lets get real about my fitness progress (that I usually share on my snapchat) today. As some of you know, when Charlie turned one I finally decided to get my butt in gear. I needed to make some serious changes in order to get in shape after having a baby. Although I have a petite frame, I am naturally curvy and weight loss has never come easy for me. If I want to lose weight, I have to make changes. I have never been able to eat what I want. I tend to settle on my body and make excuses that “this is just how my body is,” blah blah blah.
Having a baby does something to your mentality. I’ve never been more proud of this body that grew, nourished and kept my son safe. It deserves to be strong, not only for me but for my roll as a mom. I was also sick of how my clothes fit and my love handles were REAL.
My neighbor works at Equinox and I had told her that I really needed to get it together. I knew I wanted a female trainer and she scheduled a fitness assessment with Erin (my trainer – she is the BEST). The fitness assessment, however, was not the best. Nothing will get your butt in gear like hearing that your body fat percentage is POOR. POOR!!! I never thought I was overweight but when you see that your body fat percentage is 31% of your total weight. That doesn’t feel good. *Also, note that none of this is sponsored. Invest in yo-self.
The first photo was taken on September 23rd after my first session with Erin. The second photo was taken two weeks ago. I have lost 4 lbs (not a lot but I’ve gained a lot of muscle) and 4.5 inches off of my abdomen. I have lost about an inch everywhere else (chest, arms and thighs – these areas have gained the most muscle). My main goal was to drop the body fat percentage and as of last week I have lost 10% of my body fat. Woohoo!
The next stage is to really change my diet in order to expose my muscle and beat that baby fat that has lingered my whole life. I try to eat healthy 4 days a week (like really strict) and when I want to splurge I still tend to eat healthy (think salad with a side for fries -ha). The damn wine glass haunts me every night, too.
I am completely aware that this is an investment for everyone. For my own success I need someone to hold me accountable. I also know that my body gets too comfortable doing the same things every day. I needed someone to switch it up, challenge me and kick my butt. It has now been 4 months and I always look forward to our sessions! It is always something different and even after four months I am always sore after our workouts. I meet with her 3 times a week and try to do cardio intervals 2-3 days a week.
I created a youtube video with a few weight training circuits that we do every week. You can usually see these in action on snapchat (@lizadamsss) but I know that they are hard to screen grab so I wanted to make a quick video that you can refer to from time to time. See it here! (do you want to see more stuff like this??)
In terms of my cardio days, my trainer recommended cardio intervals to really burn the most calories in the shortest amount of time. I typically stick to the treadmill or the stair master.
Stair Master Cardio Intervals: 30 minutes
Interval setting on the stair master for 30 minutes. Alternate 2 minutes at level 6 and 2 minutes at level 10 (this is automatic when you choose level 6). Note: all stair masters have different settings to test yourself and see what pushes you!
Treadmill Cardio Intervals: 30 minutes
Set incline to 1.5. Alternate 1 minute walking at 4 mph and 1 minute running at 8.8 mph for first 10 minutes. Alternate 1 minute walking at 4 mph and 1 minute running at 9.0 mph for next 10 minutes. Set incline to 2.0. Alternate 1 minute walking at 4 mph and 1 minute running at 9.0/9.2 mph (alternating every sprint minute – I usually go 9.2/9.0/9.2/9.0/9.2 for the last 5 minutes of sprints).
Note: It took me awhile to get to this point. Start where you are comfortable and build up! The important things about intervals is getting your heart rate up and dropping it and building it up again. This is what helps your body burn more calories/fat!
Let me know if you have any questions in the comments! I’m going to be sharing some of the healthy recipes I’ve been making (as seen on snapchat/insta-stories) this weekend. You can see a few of them here! Plus, I’m sharing some of my favorite workout gear below…
){kind=link}