21 Day Challenge Wrap Up

Well, I finished the 21 day challenge with Nate (remember me complaining about being sore?) And the results? Well, they're good! First, my nutrition was good - I essentially did a Whole21 + a few days.  The challenge started on Dec 2nd and technically finished on Dec 22, although Nate was kind enough to provide us with workouts and accountability for Christmas week as well. I stayed on plan through the 21 days, but then slid a bit while we were in PA for Christmas. Not ideal, but I know now that I can get everything back under control. It really hit home that I feel SO. MUCH. BETTER. when I eat right.

 

 

As for my fitness, holy cow. It has been a REALLY long time since I've been so sore. My arms were sore, my abs were sore, my legs were sore. EVERYTHING was sore. It was awesome. :)  And my measurements showed that I lost inches on my waist, thighs, and hips, and two pounds overall. Not bad for three weeks of work!  So what's next? I just ordered the P90X3 DVDs and will be participating in a 90 day challenge for the late winter/early spring. Why? Because I need accountability. And because I need to have some form of stress relief. And because I want to be fit. Not just skinny. But truly fit. The fitter I am, the better runner I will be. The better rider I will be. The better mama I'll be. And the better wife I'll be. The better ME I'll be. And that's what I'm after. 

A whole new level of soreness...

Just dropping in for a quick update. First, some talk about the munchkin.  We took her off dairy for almost three weeks. No change in eczema or bowels. Saw an allergist, who did some very basic skin testing (dairy, eggs, soy, wheat, dust mites) all of which were negative. So we added dairy back in and are dealing with skin care issues, and giving the bowels some more time to resolve their issues.  The gut grows and adapts just as the rest of the body, so it may just be adapting and need more time. I'm okay with that for now, because she doesn't seem to be uncomfortable. If she gets uncomfortable again, we'll pursue other options. So that's that, at least for now.

As for me, I set myself up to succeed over Thanksgiving (made sure I had plenty of compliant dishes to choose from) and still made bad decisions. I'm okay with it - no excuses, no regret, just moving on the next day (or week).  I had 3-4 days of poor eating choices (not all bad choices, just a few each day), felt terrible and decided that Thanksgiving was no excuse to totally give up between now and Christmas. I gained 3-4 lbs (mostly water weight, I think/hope); hopefully I'll be able to get that off before Christmas!

So I signed up for a 21 day challenge, hosted by a Beachbody coach I "know" through Facebook and some friends. The challenge is 21 days of clean eating (Whole30 style for me) plus working out 6 days a week. Three days are WOD (workout of the day) that he provides and the other three days are cardio/recovery days (so 30 minutes on the treadmill or a run, etc). We started on Monday and will finish on 12/21 (our first day back in PA for Christmas).  Holy sore muscles, Batman!  Monday's WOD left me SO sore - definitely feeling muscles in my legs that I haven't in a VERY long time. Yesterday's WOD was tough, too. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, but one of my challenges is just being coordinated enough to do some of these movements (ahem, burpees) let alone have the strength.  But soreness is awesome. I haven't felt sore in a really long time. It makes me happy, makes me feel productive. And my nutrition has been great all this week. I've got some challenges coming up (holiday meals, etc), but I have the resources to make good decisions (now I just need the willpower!). 

If all goes well, maybe I'll post before/after stats/pics. Maybe. I also have some new recipes that we tried recently, from Well Fed 2 and from random websites. I'll try to get pics and put links up when I can. :)