My Health & Fitness Journey
Most of you know from Instagram that in March of 2022 (exactly a year ago from me writing this post), I made a 180 in my lifestyle. This is a topic that I receive many questions about so I thought it would be best to share as much as I can into one post for y’all! I share about this change in my life not to boast, but to hopefully encourage anyone else that is never too late to make some changes to better yourself.
HOW I GOT STARTED
For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to be the person that worked out regularly and actually enjoyed it. One of my main obstacles was that I literally did not know how to workout. Once I had kids, another obstacle became that finding time to go to the gym was just not realistic as a full time stay at home mom. My sister in law had told me about an app she uses called Moves by Madeline that basically shows you exactly what to do and has a targeted workout for each week day. In March of 2022 I had learned about 75 Hard, which is a 75 day long challenge (I’ll attach a picture below of what is involved for 75 Hard). I had seen some friends of mine complete it and one evening I just randomly decided to start the next day.
Starting 75 Hard is what kick started my lifestyle change. Since I had to start a diet and workout twice a day, it just became a habit to workout everyday and to make healthier choices in my diet. Prior to this I literally did not work out and also had an unhealthy relationship with food. My relationship with food involved overeating, looking at food as pleasure rather than fuel, always thinking about my next meal, loved to eat out, ordering door dash for lunch most days, having dessert basically every night, etc. I would then deal with guilt at the end of the day from eating so poorly.
For my diet with 75 Hard, I made my own “diet.” I more so wanted to just make some changes and cut some things out that would be sustainable to follow in the long run rather than following some crash diet that would leave me hungry and be hard to follow for a long period of time. I wanted to do something that I would continue after 75 Hard. The main things I did for my “diet” was cut out French fries, chips, tortillas, pasta, pizza and all sweets. I also added in having one serving of vegetables a day, two servings of fruit and adding in more protein.
For my two workouts, I would use the Moves by Madeline app for a morning workout (you can choose 60 or 30 minute workouts) and I would do a walk with the kids. Cody and I decided to convert part of our garage into a gym as he wanted to start lifting more at home as well. Having gym equipment at home has been a huge benefit for both of us. It makes it significantly easier to carve out time to work out since I do not get hardly any time to myself. If you are wanting to start your own home gym I would pick a spot that you want to have your equipment and slowly buy the equipment. You do not need everything all at once! You can do a lot with just weights!
Here is a list of equipment that we have in our home gym:
- Bench
- Rack (Cody uses this mostly. I rarely use it at the moment, but have been slowly using it more as I am lifting more).
- Adjustable Weights
- Bands
- Kettlebell Weight
After about 56 days of doing 75 Hard, I unfortunately developed acute pancreatitis and had to stop. Although I did not get to finish, I am so proud of myself for doing something I NEVER thought I was capable of. If you are going to start 75 Hard, I recommend starting in early spring or early fall for better weather and before the holidays.
Let’s go back to more of my motivation of why I wanted to make changes in my health and lifestyle. In college I did struggle with some body image issues due to the relationship I was in, but other than that I really haven’t had much of an issue with my appearance. I have always admired women that lift and look fit. I knew I would lose some weight, but that really wasn’t my motivation. My motivation was to gain muscle and become more healthy from the inside out. My children have also been a huge motivation because I want to be a good example to them to make healthy choices and I want to also live a long and healthy life to be with them here on earth for as long as I can, Lord willing.
My best advice I can give you is to not overthink this and to just START. Starting is by far the hardest part, but I promise it will all feel like a habit after about two weeks. Do not make these changes so complicated. Focus on daily exercise and make some changes in your diet that are sustainable for the long run. Crash diets that deprive you of everything are not sustainable!
Q&A
How do you deal with not overeating when out or on the weekends?
Now that I am not doing 75 Hard, I allow myself 2-3 cheat meals so when we go out to eat, I do not feel guilty about ordering whatever I want! I do still watch my portion size when I am eating out because portions are typically larger than what I would be making at home.
How much weight have you lost?
Since March of 2022, I have lost about 20 pounds. I am putting on more muscle now so I expect to gain some more weight. It’s really not about the numbers for me. It is more about how I feel.
Which Madeline Moves program did you start with?
I started with beginner and it was perfect for me as someone who really never worked out before. It really helped me build up strength and endurance to be able to do her weekly moves program that I do every day now.
What was it that finally made you stick with it?
Starting 75 Hard was such a quick decision for me. I remember I was literally just in bed scrolling on Instagram and I saw someone I know post about 75 Hard and I was like “that’s it. I can do this” and I started the next day! I was so done with constantly making excuses. I felt so bloated and “soft” and more than anything, I wanted muscle. I truly didn’t have any muscle before starting 75 Hard.
What was the hardest part for you at first?
The hardest part was starting! After about two weeks of doing 75 Hard, making healthy choices with my diet and working out every day became habit and just felt like part of my normal routine! Now it just feels weird if I do not work out for a day! I typically do not workout on the weekends and I am always so eager to get back to it on Monday!
What do you order when you go out to breakfast at dinner?
Again, I allow myself about 2-3 cheat meals and those are usually when we go out to eat. We do try to eat at home about 4-5 nights a week for dinner and we typically go out to breakfast just once a week. For breakfast I usually get scrambled eggs, berries, and a biscuit (honestly my breakfast order changes quite a bit). For dinner it really just depends! I really just pay more attention to portions and try to stay away from carbs.
Favorite low calorie snacks and low calorie alcoholic drinks?
At this point, I really do not snack much. If I do, I usually have an apple, plain organic greek yogurt or some nuts. I do not drink alcohol much anymore. I would say I maybe have one drink a week if even that! I do not drink cocktails since they usually have a ton of sugar and I do not like anything overly sweet. I usually get red Italian wine or a beer if we are at a restaurant.
Meal ideas for dinner?
Some of our easy weeknight meals are: steak night, salmon, spaghetti with meat sauce, taco night, burgers, chili.
What equipment do you need to start out with at home?
Weights are a must! We use the adjustable Bowflex weights, but for starting out you could probably get away with some 5’s, 10’s and 15’s until you build up more strength. A bench and some bands would also be necessary. I linked all of our home gym equipment at the top of this post.
How much water do you intake in a day?
About 80-100 ounces
What does your daily food intake look like?
Breakfast: We usually eat the same thing for breakfast everyday, which is scrambled eggs and fresh organic blueberries. I probably eat about 2 eggs.
Lunch: I usually make my self a smoothie with Ancient Nutrition protein powder, 1 organic banana, organic plain greek yogurt, water, frozen organic berries and chia seeds. I’m usually not very hungry at lunch and the smoothie fills me up! Sometimes I will also have an organic honeycrisp apple.
Dinner: This looks different most nights, but I *try* to stay away from carbs!
Do you do cardio as well or just weight lifting?
Madeline Moves app includes some cardio in the workouts. I was running about twice a week when I did 75 Hard and I would like to start running more again. We recently bought a stationary bike that Cody has been using a lot and I want to do that once a week or so too!
Do you follow a diet or just make healthy choices?
At this point I do just fine making healthy choices rather than strictly following a diet!
Do you drink alcohol?
I addressed this in an earlier question, but usually just one drink a week if even that! My body doesn’t respond very well to alcohol and I do not like feeling bad the next day. If I have more than two drinks I will feel absolutely terrible the next day.
Would you recommend 75 Hard for someone who works full time at an office?
The biggest challenge for anyone with 75 Hard is getting TWO 45 minute workouts in each day (one has to be outside). I would usually workout before the kids woke up and then would take them on a 45 minute walk. If you work full time in an office, I would recommend waking up early to do one workout and then doing one after work (if you have kids, you could do it after bedtime).
How do you resist temptation for eating poorly on busy days?
I rarely find myself being tempted to eat poorly at this point. I think prior to this I probably had some sort of sugar addiction. I was constantly wanting sugar and bad food and was snacking all day long. I do not have those cravings at all anymore!
Do you count your protein or calories?
Nope!
Do you add minerals to your water?
I drink Redmond re-lyte once a day, but I do not add minerals to the water I drink throughout the day.
How do you handle sweets?
I rarely ever having cravings for sweets anymore! My dad loves ice cream so when we eat at their house I usually have a scoop of ice cream and if Cody and I go on a date, we sometimes get dessert. We do not eat dessert at home.