Monday, June 1, 2015

Back To Basics: Lessons I Learned These Past Two Weeks

Following an epic week of drunken debauchery celebrating my 29th birthday, all my hard work getting into tip top bikini shape for my pool party was pretty much trashed. So on May 17th, I began my two week Back To Basics Health and Fitness Challenge to get back on track. Armed with Shakeology, a fridge stocked with healthy eats, Brazil Butt Lift, Insanity, and an already intense training schedule (I am a beast), I shed a few pounds, shrank a couple of inches, and learned a few lessons along the way. And while I enjoy feeling healthier and being that much hotter (just kidding), I think the lessons I learned are worth sharing

  • Imperfection is Inevitable. -  During the past two weeks, I am willing to admit that I was less than perfect. I am typically a very disciplined person; I wake up at 5 am everyday; I plan my workouts and meals; and I keep a pretty tight professional and personal calendar. However, in the past two weeks, there was a holiday, a birthday, work, social events, and even a tragedy. And I'm not making excuses for myself but maintaining a clean diet was not necessarily at the forefront of my mind. Sure, I did my best to eat clean and yeah, I still maintained most of my workouts but sometimes living and doing what I needed to do to survive took precedence. Imperfection was inevitable in this situation, and in reality, life is going to get a little messy and being a Health and Wellness Super Heroine is not going to be as important as staying sane. I am human after all. 
  • Perseverance is Just As Important as Consistency. - Even if I wasn't perfect when life got in the way, I did try to maintain some level of consistency with living as healthy as possible. At the same time, when I screwed up and had mama's birthday cake or a couple of pieces of baklava or a few glasses of whiskey neat, I never punished myself or said "f*** this, I already messed up anyway." Instead, I acknowledged my shortcomings, went to bed, and tried to do better the next day. I know it would have probably been better to not have those luxury cheats but as I said before, imperfection was inevitable. Giving up on my goals, however, is never an option for me. I do think that consistency and discipline are the keys to success.  However, I also think that there is something to be said for picking myself up, dusting my shoulders off, and to try to do better next day or at the next meal.
  • Shakeology is The Business. - I don't just mean this because this is a Beachbody product and I am a Beachbody coach but because it changed the game with my weight loss and how I felt. Shakeology for breakfast was one of the major consistencies during this two week period, and I was thoroughly impressed. For the most part, it kept me consistently full for a good 4 hours after having it and killed a lot of my cravings. And the odd thing was that, even when I slipped with my sweet tooth, I never felt satisfied like I did after a shake. I just felt cleaner and healthier from the inside out and I went from 132.1 pounds on 5/17 to 126.4 pounds on 5/31. I am not saying that it was all Shakeology because I work it out when I sweat but it definitely helped since I was not an angel all the time on my diet. Plus I don't do salads or anything that resembles rabbit food so this helped me get the nutrition I needed.
  • Celebrate Your Mini Victories - I am proud of the progress I have made in just two weeks especially with the cards I was dealt but this by no means was my greatest victory or my best effort. If I was on my best behavior, I know what kind of results I am capable of getting but progress is progress. The tummy is flatter; the pants are looser; I've lost some weight; and I have a booty! Baby steps...

  •  At Home Workouts Are Not Jokes- I am not going to lie; I am a traditional workout kind of  girl. I run; I lift; I go to Barre and Pilates classes. I am, by definition, a gym rat. I always thought at home workout DVDs were kind of cheesy. But in an effort to keep things fresh and try new things, I did Brazil Butt Lift and Insanity. Admittingly, I started Insanity because Shaun T is really hot (and yes, I am aware that he is gay) and Brazil Butt Lift is a little cheesy. However Insanity is hard and Brazil Butt Lift is like my Barre class at a cardio speed; they are both valid workouts.



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