Fate, Friends, and T-25

Well, I've been rather absent lately.  Don't worry I have been crocheting!  However, I've also been busy with something else.  Something I've been meaning to do, but lacked commitment and support.

That all changed because of inspiration and encouragement from my friend, Stephanie.  Since my son's birth, I've yo-yo'd with my weight and exercise.  I lost a lot when he was born, even got into my pre-pregnancy jeans before he was 4 months old (please note, I did not say they were comfortable).  Then I began to pump to save up milk for him and did what ever I could to increase milk production (this meant lots of oatmeal cookies), then the added stress of getting back to work.  In the struggle to do it all,  I found myself eating--and craving-- all kinds of processed junk.  If Chips-A-Hoy were around and my husband wasn't, well guess what was for dinner.  I just did not make myself a priority, and when I tried to I caught the mom guilt.

Maybe I should call it the mom-daughter-wife guilt, because to go to the gym I had to leave my precious baby and either get my husband to watch him (which was unlikely because we have opposing hours most days) or get my mom to watch him, which I felt guilty for because she also watches him during the day.  Then I had to drive to the gym, try to get a work out in, and get back home as quickly as possible so I could have more time with my son before bed.  Just to be clear, my husband and mom never complained about watching him, it was totally my feelings.  In order to avoid leaving I tried working out at home, but I wasn't consistent for a variety of reasons.

I've been trying to do better for about a year now.  I've limited sweets, when it was warm I'd take Josh on a walk or to the park everyday.  And then we had a messed up summer and I was thrown off track.  Then I got busy working on my crochet business in addition to all the new NJ SGO and evaluation requirements.  Excuses, excuses...

Then, I noticed my friend Stephanie, who'd just had her second baby in the spring, posting some awesome pics of healthy meals and then some pictures she posted about how her body changed.  I was amazed.  In my mind I never believed my body could be great again, but then I looked at her.  The next thing I knew, she was announcing her new career as a beach body coach!

I was interested, but not sold, mostly because I did not believe in myself.  I messaged her a couple times about it, and then she made me an offer I couldn't refuse.  Part of her job is running challenge groups.  She started a group called "Moms on the Move" just for moms who were friends with her.  There was no cost, except for whatever workouts we chose to follow (I started with Jillian's Yoga Meltdown which I already had), and any supplements (like shakeology) you wanted. So for me it was free.   There was a points system and we were supposed to check in daily.  It started on January 6th.  My first two weeks were rough because of going on a conference at Hershey Lodge that first weekend, but I kept with it.

I committed to eating cleaner (mainly giving up carbs at lunch, soda, and dessert--I have a huge sweet tooth) and working out at least 3 times a week.  Baby steps.

Then one fateful Wednesday morning, during a content team meeting, that just happened to be two of us that week,  I mentioned this challenge group I was in. It had to be predestined, because my co-worker, Neshea, had the T-25 videos but really needed an accountability partner.  So we began to work out everyday afterschool.  January 27th was the day we started and I am happy to say, over three weeks in, we have not missed a day (yep, even with all the snow days--we both did them at home), and I've done doubles every Friday!

The changes in my body amaze me.  Every time I look in the mirror I think "Change can't happen this fast," but it has!  My stomach is  WAY tighter, my legs feel and look stronger, and I have so much more energy.  My attitude has done a 180.  I finally feel like this IS something I can do!  I've lost 8lbs so far.  There's a week and a half until I finish T-25 Alpha, and I'm so excited to share the results.

Sorry to sound like an infomercial, but this has made such a big difference in my life, I just had to share.  Thank you to my friends, Steph and Neshea, who have helped me get here, and my family for supporting me and watching J-man for a bit so I could sneak in my workouts!

You can check out Stephanie's Blog Here
Stay tuned for a follow up post around March 1st with my 30 day results.  Pictures included ;)