Back in November I posted about my introduction to kettlebell workouts, so here I am back to give you my follow up report on how that is progressing for me. Let me start this out by saying that my weightloss journey began in January of 2015 and continues to this day, because it is honestly a process of making continual lifestyle changes. I started with getting back into a cardio routine, and then naturally because I had time to cook at home, I consumed less calories and was making healthier food choices. Summer time was more of a maintenance routine for me because with the kids home from school, my daily routine went out the door so I kind of held onto my weightloss goals by a thread. At the end of August I had my annual physical, and I was excited to head to the doctor and just see what my numbers looked like down on paper. At that point I was down 25 pounds, and my cholesterol had naturally dropped 50 points in a year. We made the move to Mindoro shortly thereafter, and the kids started school which was a warm welcome to me mostly because I was ready to resume some kind of routine. I hopped back on the cardio train and got myself back on track to where I had been at the previous spring. . . which brought me to this fall when I made the decision that I needed to up my game a bit, enter kettlebells. A close friend of mine had suggested Eupraxia to me, so I signed up for the free week just to see what it was like. I
posted about my near death experience after the first week. . . . and then I returned for a second week, then I actually signed up for an 8 week session just to see if it was truly for me. When I started the process I had a beginning FIT test done which is basically a benchmark, which includes physical measurements as well as exercises such as push ups, pull ups, and burpees. So my noteable 8 week stats are that I doubled the amount of burpees I can do in a minute, blew the length of my plank out of the water, and I've lost 1.5 inches in my hips and waist, .25 inch in my arms, and my thighs actually became a .50 bigger. Weightwise I lost 3 pounds, and their scale isn't your everyday bathroom scale. It measures the body fat percentage, bmi, the weight of your fat, muscle, and water respectively so you get a better idea of where your body is at. So the 3 pounds I lost was all fat, and I managed to bring my BMI down to a healthier range. I was pretty stoked after my FIT test, I never realized how motivational having the numbers down on paper could be to me. Those are the hard numbers, but my soft personal feedback is that I actually enjoy going to the workouts now-so much so that a workout on the treadmill on my off days kind of bums me out. My endurance on the treadmill has increased tenfold, and the burn and muscle soreness of each of the workouts has kind of become a new "normal" for me. My goal is to get there 2-3 days a week, and tmill 2-3 days. I have been going for over 9 weeks, and have yet to do the same workout twice-the people there are nice, positive, and make me want to get to that next weight up. Which by the way, I'm still a total wimp. . . I still stick with the motto of lighter weights, good form otherwise things could get kind of ugly. My goal of trying this was to break through a plateau, which I have-while the scale may not have moved a lot, I can tell a huge difference in my body composition and how I feel overall.
For me, I know that I would not have accomplished any of this if I had a fulltime, work out of the home job so I am not preaching some holier than though story of weightloss and how it's all a big balancing act, a magic pill, starving yourself, etc. What it honestly came down to for me was having the time to commit to exercising, and preparing healthier meals. It's plain and simple, I can only live in so much chaos so while working out of the home, if I had my kids homework, laundry and the house clean, that was enough for me. Sadly my own health and well being has taken a back seat to that, but everybody has their breaking point and for me-that was the wheel in my life I felt I could safely lose but still keep moving forward. When I hear of other people's weightloss struggles similar to mine of juggling everyday life things, and struggling to find a moments peace to yourself, let alone an hour to exercise; despite where I'm at now in my life, I was that same person not that long ago. I currently don't work out of the home because my husband's work schedule and responsibilities change on a regular basis, making it very difficult for someone like me who relies on consistency and schedule, to go out and get a job in my field. We've also decided as parents that we can't both chase after a career dream and truly be present in our children's lives, so one of us has committed to chasing the career while the other is committed to being present. I'm the latter part of that equation, so while I'm sure many think "it must be nice to only have to worry about working out for the day", my response would be. . . . it is. Along with the million other things I organize, clean, and think about on a daily basis. I realize how very fortunate I am, my faith and this exercise journey are the two things that have helped me to cope with the stress and change that has taken place in my life this past year.
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