Another End To A Third Beginning!

Today is the last day of the second testimonial workout that I have done.

Overall it was even better than the first one that I did. I really loved the workouts and was able to stick with it really well. We did RIP:60 then RAPIDfit then 3 or 4 weeks of a couple different workouts. Today we did a new workout called FREEfit. I think that was the name and I LOVED it! It was so fun! You go at your own speed and do the workout in whatever order you wanted. Of all the workouts I think my least favorites are RAPIDfit and INCLINEfit. And my favorites are RIP:60, FREEfit and the Medley. We did RAPIDfit for 5 weeks so I started to get bored with it and for some reason it would always drag out. Whereas with the others an hour passes before I even realize I've started. And for me that is something I need.

I also really liked having Lisa as a trainer. She was so sweet and always upbeat and you could tell she cared about each and every one of us. That is why I like this program and the trainers so much is because no matter whom you get as your trainer you can tell they care about you and your results and helping you as much as they can.

So I am sure you are wondering what my results ended up being. I am slightly ashamed to say but after the first testimonial program I took a month off and didn't keep up with my workout and eating right so I gained back a little. But I still had awesome results at the end of this one also. My body really seemed to get in the swing of letting go of the inches and becoming stronger. I lost inches everywhere and lost a total of 9.2 pounds. The one thing I am really proud of is that I have lost a total of almost 7 inches around my waist :) I feel and look stronger. My balance is awesome! And I honestly feel like I can do anything I want now! I have gotten so many complements from my family and friends about how awesome I am doing and how good I look. Part of me still can't believe how far this program has helped me come. I am only 4 pounds away from being the weight I was in High School. But not only am I almost down to that weight but I am much much stronger than I have ever been. I can honestly say that my results bring tears to my eyes. I had gotten to the point where I didn't believe it was even physically possible to get down to how much I weighed in High School. Now I believe it and I know I can do even better than that and lose even more weight! My husband and I have been married for 3 and a half years and dated for six months before we got married. And in the whole 4 years I have never been in such good shape or weighed what I do now.

This opportunity I stumbled on has changed my life. And I know everyone hears the stories all the time and always think, "Well they are just more dedicated than I am." Or something along those lines. But that is not true at all. I have seen the most amazing things happen in the people I work out with. Half my class is over 50! And some are in their late 60's and I think even older! When I thought of myself at that age I just figured I wouldn't care anymore and that no one really did. Haha. Those ladies and men are some of the most motivated people that I have seen in the workout program. I learned to love working out. It started as a desire to change my health because I knew I had let it slide too much, and now it is a desire to do more and to help others to see what it can do in their life. I am sure if anyone that is reading this is skeptical they are thinking that I am full of it and that I can't possibly know how they feel but I have been there. I can't tell you how many times I wanted to call Natalie back when I first signed up and tell her that I was just kidding and that I didn't really want to do it. I was terrified of starting. I kept wondering if I could really handle it or if I'd just end up dropping out, or worse, getting kicked out because I sucked that bad! But after the first couple weeks I knew that this is what I should be doing and I made the right choice.

I have signed up for a third time and I will start Monday. Part of me keeps telling myself that I don't need to do it again and that twice is enough, but I know that I still have more to lose and I can still become faster and stronger. I am excited to start fresh and meet more new people and build more friendships and hopefully help others to see that if I can do it then they can too!

**Pictures to come when I get them :)

Halfway there!

I am already halfway through this new 3 month testimonial and loving it! I just did the mid-assessment and I feel like I am doing really well so far. I have lost inches on everything except my left bicep (probably because I am building so much muscle right? :)  ) and I am down 5 pound from when I started.

Workout
We started with RIP:60 the first 4 weeks. When I did it in the first testimonial I thought it was okay but I didn't LOVE it. This time around and I was really sad to switch to something else. We have been doing RAPIDfit the last couple weeks and I have enjoyed that a lot too. I can't turn on the vibration platform so that part makes me sad but I do other things to make sure I am getting an optimal workout.

Nutrition
So I am actually still doing the Paleo diet! Weird I know. But I have really liked it a lot. I have noticed when I eat wheat that I have a "pooch" on my belly. Like I am more bloated. I don't get sick or anything, but that is one thing I have noticed. One downfall I have noticed it that I don't seem to get full and stay satisfied very long so I have added in dairy here and there to keep my calories up and to stay full. The recipes have been surprisingly really good and the plan just makes grocery shopping and meal planning SO easy! I have really liked it.

Results
A few things I have noticed througout the program is that I feel stronger, I have more energy to play with my baby and don't hate getting down on the floor to play with her, and my balance has become excellent. I always thought that my balance was pretty good but I must have lost it over the years and I have noticed that throughout the program it has gotten better. My clothes obviously fit looser and my stomach is becoming more and more flat which I love! After having my baby I never thought I would be to this point already and it's only been 8 months since I had her. I have noticed I am way more toned and have a lot more muscle mass which is awesome! I have been getting so many compliments from friends and family about how good I am looking. And I just feel good!

TAKE TWO!

I have decided to do the testimonial group again. I loved the results I saw and how I felt after the first time and decided that I should finish what I started. I have more weight and inches to go and I want to continue to work that off. As you can see from the before and after results and picture the FreeMotion Testimonial helped me A TON!

WORKOUT
I had a huge struggle with myself on deciding whether or not to do the testimonial group or just go to the workouts. I took June off because I had a lot of family events and wouldn't be around enough to make signing up for the month of June worth it. But I decided to sign back up again. It is now July 7th and I am already at the end of the first week. Because it is a completely new testimonial group we have been starting out slow and easy. We have gotten done a little early the first couple times so I run or walk on the incline trainer to get my full hour in. I have been doing RIP:60 again. On Tuesday I was pretty sore. But after the workout Friday I am feeling really good. This time I am with Lisa. She is awesome! She is fun, motivating and very good at explaining the movements and showing them correctly. She makes it a point to learn everyone's name which makes us feel even more welcome. I was doing the 5:30 class last time and switched to the 9 o'clock class to accommodate my husband's schedule better. I like doing the workout in the morning because it really jumps starts my day and makes me feel like I'm getting thing accomplished.

NUTRITION
One big thing I have decided to change is the nutrition. I am trying the Paleo diet for the first few weeks to see if that will jump start my weight loss. I never thought in a million years that I would ever try the diet. I love grain products and I love dairy. But since I am still nursing my baby I would get the same results if I stuck with the same nutrition. So I looked into it a little more. They make the diet really super easy by telling you exactly what to eat for breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. They also give you shopping lists and the recipes for everything. I decided if I was going to do it I was going to do it exact. So I went and bought the exact things the shopping list requested. It was cost a lot of money but a lot of the things I got will be used throughout the next 6 weeks and my husband and I wouldn't be eating out. So all in all it probably evens out. I read through the recipes and I was extremely skeptical. But if I decided to do it I was going to do it. I thought for sure all the food would be bland and boring. After doing it for six days I am happy to report I was completely wrong. The recipes are amazing and the food tastes SO good! My husband loves it to. I have tried a few meals on my other family members and they also love it. I haven't weighed myself yet so we will see next week if my weight has changed. But I feel a lot healthier and better at least. I do not plan to do the Paleo Diet for the whole three months, but I will probably still use most of the recipes and add in brown rice and things like that.

Here we go again!

THE RESULTS :)

FINAL POST

In a way it makes me sad to know that this will be my final post, but it also makes me feel accomplished. I have very much enjoyed my time in the FreeMotion Testimonial program. At times I wanted to give up and it was never "easy". But I can now say that I have been successful in going through the program and I am dang proud to say so.

Today I did my final assessment. It was as I expected. I had lost in weight, inches and body fat percent but not a ton. Honestly I don't think the reason I didn't lose more is because the workout and diet wasn't good enough, I really just think it has to do with nursing my baby. Which is fine with me. But I have had tons of my friends and family tell me how great I am looking and that is always nice and motivating. Also I have noticed my clothes fit differently. I am currently wearing a pair of capris that my sister-in-law gave me when I was in High School and I haven't been able to wear them since then. So that has been about 6 years. So I am pretty proud of that for sure. I have a pair of pants that I wore for my engagement pictures three years ago that I wanted to fit in by the end of the program... They basically fit except the butt area. Pretty sure the pants were made for someone with no butt. And now I have one. Which is not a bad thing at all because I know it is all muscle :) I did get a very drastic haircut during the program because I was sick of my long hair. One of the says we were warming up I asked Derek if they just wouldn't use my results if I didn't lose enough weight or change enough because I haven't changed all that much. And another group member chimed in and said, "But you've lost A LOT of hair!" Hahaha! So inches wise I guess I should be able to add 12 inches lost because I cut 12 inches of hair off. :P

That being said I LOVED having the opportunity to do this program. I feel better physically and mentally. I was/am overweight BUT I am doing something to change that which makes me feel better about myself. One thing Jake told me when I was having a down day is that it isn't just about me anymore; it's about everyone around me too. My family, my baby, my friends. And I really believe that. I feel that if I can show people that I can do it then they can do it to. I got a lot of encouragement from Jake and Derek throughout the whole program. To be honest I was scared to death to meet them. When I found out I had two male trainers I thought for sure they would be mean and assume I could do more than I really was able. But after even the first workouts with them I knew it was not the case. They were uplifting, fun, motivating and they never ever tore us down. Even if we weren’t "rock stars" (Jake says that sometimes) at something they would still find something that we were doing well and still make us feel like we were being "rock stars". :) I know it sounds ridiculous but the trainers are amazing! I would have given up if it wasn't for their help and always building everyone up. I could tell they really cared about us and not just because they wanted us to get results for the testimonial group but because they wanted us to be happy with ourselves and be able to move better through our lives. And really to me that is what is most important. I only went to another time slot once but when I did I found the trainers there to be just as awesome. It was the noon class and the two ladies doing it noticed I wasn't a "regular", learned my name and then used it throughout the workout. I am a teacher and two of the basic things they teach us to keep students motivated and on task are to learn their names and use them and to not only say that they are doing a good job, but be specific about what they are doing a good job at. The trainers I worked with always managed to do those things.

I also loved the equipment. I was able to have the opportunity to use the RIP:60, IC Bikes, Incline Trainers, Vibration Platforms, and the Cable Pulls. All were fun and useful. Having all the different types of equipment made it so I didn’t get bored and I stayed motivated. The only thing I would advise for future users is that if you have weak wrists to wrap them with athletic tape or something for doing RIP:60, burpies and planks. I also loved all of this equipment because they were all very user friendly and easy to adjust to the level that I was at.

I have been telling all of my friends and family that they should do this program. This is exactly what I need to get in shape and stay there. Working out on my own was okay, but having the right equipment with the right trainers is key for quicker and better results. FreeMotion has everything I needed/need to get to where am I am and to continue towards a more healthy me. 

Thank you to everyone that made my success possible. FreeMotion is the best!

Better Late Than Never

I haven't posted in a while because I have been pretty discouraged. After my assessment I was ready to give up. If I wasn't going to lose weight then what was the point? I also got burnt out on the workout we were doing and the nutrition program. Both are really good but extremely hard. Especially when you don't see the results you want. Yes I lost inches but that wasn't my goal. But I continued everything because I dedicated myself to it and made a promise that I would stick with it.

For about 5 or 6 weeks after the assessment we did just RIP:60. Which was the straps and some floor exercises. I loved the RIP:60 moves! It was a lot of fun and a different way of mixing up the workouts. It really worked my core a lot. But I was ready to switch to a different workout when the time came.

We have 2 and a half weeks left and last week we switched back to the Playground workout that we were doing before. Because I had gotten so discouraged I had stopped wanting to come to class. They also threw in another trainer which made it even harder for me to want to do the workout and do what she said. It was nothing against her personally. I had just gotten use to having Jake and Derek. They knew where I had started, they knew me and because they had proven themselves to me I was okay with them telling me what to do. So honestly yes, I had a really hard time when they added the new trainer. This is something that is extremely personal to me and I had gotten into my comfort zone with my trainers and workout group. But as the workouts have gone by I am becoming more and more okay with her being there. She is very upbeat, kind, encouraging and fun. Also when we switched back to the Playground which is 5 different station I forgot how much it worked me! It was awesome to switch back and made me want to start going to class again. The RIP:60 seemed more of strengthening rather than cardio. After the first day we switched back to Playground I was sweating like crazy! I missed that part a lot. I sweated a little with RIP:60 but not as much as with the Playground.

With the playground we are adding things to make it more difficult. Because we have the new trainer to keep time and help out, Jake is able to come around to everyone individually and push us harder. Which is SO good for me! I never knew that I was as strong as I was until Jake pushed me to my limits. That has also been really fun because now I have more accomplishments and I can see that I have become stronger and my endurance has improved. Tonight though we were told to keep it as basic as we were in the very beginning...which makes me sad because I really want to push those limits and see how extreme I can really go. We will see how that goes though. I am still making sure my intensity is more than when I started to make sure I am still progressing.

I am not sure weight wise how much I have lost or anything but I am going to push my hardest these last 2 and half weeks and see where I can get.

WEEK 7

So week 6 brought a little bit of frustration for me. We did out mid assessments and the numbers weren't what I was hoping for. I gained in my chest and my calves. Lost in my neck, shoulders, waist, hips and thighs. Which I am not complaining about at all! In fact my stomach has lost 3.25 inches in my waist. I credit it some of that to the fact that my is still slowing sucking back in after I had my baby. (it has been 4 and a half months) What I am frustrated about though is that I only have lost 2.5 pounds in 6 weeks. My goal was to lose 15 pounds and I am no where near that. I have been very good with sticking to the nutrition and have only had a couple days where I haven't followed it exactly. I also feel like during the workouts I put everything I have into them. I workout on the off days as well. I've talked with the trainers and I guess it could be many different things: stress (many different reasons), nursing, having the baby. It is possible that my body has just been thrown for a loop and is survival mode still because of having a baby, nursing, student teaching, this workout and just other life things. I am hoping that is the reason and that as soon as I am done student teaching a lot of my stress will subside and it will start coming off. I am tracking exactly what I eat and then I will be talking to Jake to see what we can do diet wise to see if  we can get the stubborn fat to come off.

Another highlight is that I am getting tons of comments on how thin I am starting to look. I can feel my muscles and even just living life has gotten easier. I feel like I have more energy and I can be more active.

We are now on week 5 of RIP 60 and it is intense!! I absolutely love it though! It really makes me push myself and see what I really have in me.

Jeremey told me not to weigh myself again until monday of next week so that maybe I will see a difference. This won't be too difficult because on Saturday we came home to the scale floating in 3 inches of water because it flooded. So it is for sure ruined hahaha. Hopefully next week will bring less weight with it ;)