Biggest Loser

In January I started going to our local free fitness club on Monday nights. I hadn't been there very long and they advertised they were starting a biggest loser competition. It was 30 bucks to enter. I really had to force myself to enter because I knew if I paid the 30 bucks I would most likely stick to it. I knew it wouldnt be easy, but since I was already training for my half marathon, I figured what the heck... might as well!

So, I went the first not and got weighed and measured. Measurements don't lie... let me tell you! After 4 weeks of eating 1200 calories a day and working out 5 days a week, I had lost nearly 20 inches from my body! This was good motivation that it was working! I had no idea if I was losing a good amount of weight compared to others or not, but I kept going. It got harder the longer I was in it.. I started to crave sweets! I got discouraged one week when I only lost .2 pounds... thats point two, not 2! So I let my cravings get the best of me. I bought some junk food, ate it.. and then felt terrible, haha. All that hard work for nothing?! So, I then busted my butt and ended up still losing 2 pounds for that week! So, it went to show me that one or two mess ups isn't going to make me fat... just like one or two healthy meals isn't going to make me skinny. For me, its all about portion sizes. If I'm going to eat what I cooked for my family for dinner... that's fine as long as I don't get double portions. I continued to use my fitness pal (an awesome app) on my phone to track calories for each day. Towards the last week, I got to the point where I didn't need to use the app anymore.. I just kind of tried to keep my breakfasts to 200-300, my lunch to about 400-500 and save the rest for supper which is always the most calories for us!

The final week came and I was feeling good! I made sure to wear some shorts for my weigh in despite the snow on the ground and 30 degree weather... I didn't want those yoga pants weighin me down ;)
Drum roll please.... I WON!! I was the winner and won $200!
I lost a total of 14.6 pounds and a total of 26 inches! The inches broke down to this:
Chest 38.25 to a 34
Waist 36.5 to a 29 (YAY!)
Hips 43.5 to a 38
R Arm 11.75 to 10.5
L Arm 11.75 to 10
L Thigh 24 to 20.5
R Thigh 23 to 19.75

I can really tell that my pants are looser as well as my belly fat is disappearing... I didn't say it was gone by any means! I still have a lot of work to do! I would like to lose another 15 by summer!

I recently ordered Shakeology chocolate meal replacement shakes. I just ordered a one month supply to try it out. I have heard good things about it and seen some amazing results of the shakes plus workouts from beachbody. My workouts were a combination of beachbody's Hit 15, Hit 20, Low Hit 25, Low Hit 30 and most commonly Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. That was my cross training days for my marathon training. The other 3 days a week I ran. My running was usually 30 minutes on the treadmill twice a week and then one time a week I did a long run outside. My long runs are getting longer! I did 6 on Saturday... my personal best!

I have realized through this whole thing that eating what you want while working out does not work. You have to make a lifestyle change... eat healthy AND workout! 30 minutes a day can make a big difference as you can see from my results!
Some things I ate were: fruit for breakfast... or a greek yogurt
A snack of a cutie, or a banana mid morning
Lunch: lean meat like tuna or turkey sandwhich on 45 calorie bread, or a wrap with lettuce, avacado, tomatoes, and grilled chicken, along with a greek yogurt or cottage cheese usually.. another favorite was an apple chopped with a half cup of granola and a container of flavored greek yogurt... yum!
Dinners varied but I tried to stay under 600 calories for dinner.
 I have also been drinking 64 oz of water a day!