30 Day Challenge Results!!!

Challenge… Completed. 

I know I haven’t posted much lately – but unlike all the other times I have fallen off posting all the time, I haven’t actually fallen off the wagon this time!  I’ve just been super busy.  Work is crazy busy, plus I have jury duty all day every Friday – so I’m trying to get 40 hours of work completed in a 32 hour work-week. 

Yesterday was January 30^th – which was the last day of the 30 Day Body Challenge.  I will be the first to admit – and have on Facebook – that I did miss a few days.  Not many, but a few.  When I looked at the challenge calendar when I first started – I thought, there is no way in the world I will be able to do all those things by the end of 30 days.  300 Jumping Jacks?  250 squats?!?  A 5 minute Plank?!?!  NO.  WAY.  IN.  HELL. 

But – I did it.  And I learned a few things along the way.  First – your fat jiggles just as much as your boobs do when you do jumping jacks.  Like – imagine running a 5K, or doing a 150 jumping jacks without a sports bra on.  THAT’s what it feels like.  Halfway through the month, I set a new goal – to be able to do jumping jacks without my belly hurting.  I’ll get there some day. 

Second – it’s okay to modify things to get through.  Did I literally plank for 5 ENTIRE minutes without stopping?  No – but I broke it down into 2 sets of 2.5 minutes, with a small rest in-between sets.  Same with squats – I didn’t do 250 at once, I did 2 sets of 125.  And that’s OKAY.  This time last year, or even 6 months ago, I would have just quit.  Not this time.  No excuses – just do it – however you have to – just to get it done.    

Third – I hate wall-sits just as much now as I did when I was in high school. 

The work has been paying off though.  I started back on this little journey on November 18^th.  Random date – I know.  But since that date, I have lost 21.2 pounds.  I have gone from 49.3% body fat, to 44.7%.  I have lost 20.5 inches.  I can feel a difference. 

I did take before and after pictures this time.  While taking the “after”… I thought this was stupid.  I just don’t see a difference.  And then I put them side by side, and I can see it.  I’m doing it.  And it feels great. 

 

 

Happy New Year!

Er….  Um…. 10 days late. 

My bad – I’ve been busy!  This is the busiest time of year for us at work – meaning OT almost every day, the kids are back to school, and just for fun – I was selected for Grand Jury duty!  Yay!!  (Insert eye-roll here).  Actually, the Jury Duty isn’t that bad… it’s just trying to make up the missed time at work that is the struggle. 

That being said – I haven’t quit.  I started a new monthly challenge (well, two, actually), and I’ve stuck to it – every day.  I’ve also kept up with going to the gym 3 times a week.  Plus, with this new challenge, well… it’s pretty intense.  And it gets worse (better?) every day.  What started as maybe 5 minutes on the 1^st will probably end up being closer to 30 minutes by the end of the month.  The second challenge is a photo challenge that helps document your weight loss journey.

I still haven’t seen major losses on the scale – but that’s okay.  I’m only off by about a pound from where I wanted to be by now, and I know that my body is still trying to figure out just what the hell is going on.  If I keep going, It’s gonna give.  It has to.  I AM still losing weight, and inches.  My percentage of body fat is moving in the right direction, my BMI is changing, and I am starting to SEE changes.  Little ones, but changes. 

And then there’s the workouts.  OH the workouts!!!  Today, I killed it.  And I was SO excited, I was posing for selfies on the Stair Master, and didn’t care who was looking or laughing at me.  So here’s what happened.  The last time I checked in, I was excited because I had surpassed the 4.5 minute mark without stopping.  TODAY – I went 6.5 minutes, and even then, I only stopped for about 45 seconds, then got back on, and didn’t stop until it was over. 

YOU.  GUYS. 

I walked the equivalent of 36 flights of stairs and took ONE break for less than a minute.  I feel like ROCKY at the top of the museum steps!  Every day, I push for just 30 seconds more.  Just 30 more seconds.  I can do ANYTHING for 30 seconds.  Except snakes.  I can’t handle snakes for any amount of time.  Ew.  One day – SOON – I will be posting that I went the whole 10.5 minutes without stopping.  Something that on the first day, I thought was absolutely impossible. 

I am doing impossible things.  And right now, DAY 30 of this new challenge looks impossible – but I thought that about the stair master too.  I CAN do this.