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Monday, March 30, 2015

The Power of Positive | Kinobody Progress | Personal Goals

Quite honestly, after 5 months of mentally focusing on slimming down and building muscle (having never really focused on the latter before, ever) I was reaching a point of BLAH.

I had seen some exciting progress, but felt like I had stalled or was going at such a snails pace that it wasn't worth the effort of tracking my calories, eating with intention and having a calorie deficit.  I just wanted to eat whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted and to heck with all this anal retentiveness, gosh darnit!  (Quite a contrast to my rah-rah post below...)

And I KNEW that there were things I needed to do differently to get back into the groove, but it wasn't until chatting with my husband (who's on a similar fitness journey) and listening to a great Road To Ripped podcast with kinobody.com's Greg O'Gallagher and guest Nate Tebow that I was able to refresh my perspective and came away with some FANTASTIC motivation.  (How's that for a run on sentence?)

The most striking things from Greg and Nate's conversation was Nate's daily discipline of writing 3 things he's grateful for, taking time to meditate and visualize his success/goals (also one of Greg's things,) and -first and foremost- remembering WHY you're on this journey.

I hit me:  I forgot why I was doing this!
Of course, I wanted to slim down and lose the weight I gained during pregnancy (read: eating ANYTHING I wanted, whenever I wanted and using pregnancy as an excuse.)  But I reconnected with the personal challenge and goal I had originally set.  I want to reach a level of physical fitness I've never thought possible to achieve, but I truly believe IS possible for me.  Nate is a great example of that!  From a skinny 6'1" 120lbs kid to his now astounding physique -all naturally built.  I mean, just look at that guy!  His before and after photos are (beat) ridiculous.  In a totally rad way.

I kept running up against a mental "Can't" block.  "I've never been that toned/muscular before, don't know if I can do that..."  I was starting my day with resistance, even while attempting to implement Greg's daily affirmations.  Getting rid of the negative block, embracing the process, celebrating my incremental accomplishments and living in an attitude of gratitude -awh, YESSSSSSS!  Now, that's the way I want to approach my journey!  And these are all things that Greg advocates in his kinobody.com programs.  I love how balanced his approach is -that mind and body are inseparable and we need to approach our goals not just physically but mentally with as much zeal.
Two more things bumped me out of my BLAH zone today.  First, (accidentally) doing my first unassisted pull up since ...hmmmm.... five years ago?  I was warming up and thought I'd try to do a half-pull up and completely surprised myself by reaching the top with far less effort than I imagined!

Secondly, this image compilation.  The photo on the top right is from January 15th, 2015, the other two are from this morning.  THAT.  That is progress.  And that's kinobody philosophy at work.  

The positive thinking speaks to me and continues to be the biggest difference between my success and failure.  I love hearing how these two gents -models of success- use it to sculpt their lives and bring satisfaction and joy.  

Now, I am looking forward to knocking my goals outta the PARK!  And I'm feeling much more fulfilled doing it. :)




Friday, March 27, 2015

Progress Report: What's blown my previous progress out of the water | Kinobody fitness results

A week after giving birth, I started on a weight lifting journey thanks to Brian (my hubby's) invitation.  With a kick-butt home gym he created over the years -mirrors he found curbside in our 'hood, great craigslist finds, select purchases online- I had a great set up to get started in this foreign field.

If you missed the first posts and the last update, you can click to read how I started and what I was first doing.  Monthly it has evolved and now -NOW- I've/we've found something that has made the BIGGEST difference and since I posted this transformation photo in facebook, I've gotten so many women inquiring what I've been doing -so here it is!

Note: Kinobody is geared towards men's fitness.  When you're reading healthy body fat percentages, ladies, take that with a grain of salt since we have -and need to have- higher body fat percentages.  To give you an idea, mine in the photo below is around 19% body fat.  My personal goal is 14%.  I recommend googling "women at __% body fat" to get an idea of what to shoot for.  We've been using old-school calipers to do our measurements.


Left: 1 week post-pregnancy and the start of my lifting journey,  Right: 5 months in!

Food.  That has been the key to the greatest success I've found. 
Your fitness level is 70% food, 30% exercise.  And that, my friends, was revolutionary to truly see.

If you've read through this blog, you'll see everything we've tried, from fruitarian (yep, that's a thing) to high fat, keto to paleo -we've tried nearly everything under the sun over the years.  It's all been "Eat this, don't eat this.  This is a super food, these foods are THE DEVIL!," etc.  Those diets/ways of eating worked to shed an initial few pounds, but I was always frustrated by the last 5-10 pounds that lingered.  When I was at my thinnest, it was an unsustainable combo of barely eating+high cardio.  I was thin, but I looked like a boney stick with no muscle tone.  And the barely eating thing would last a month, then I'd cycle into binge eating.  

Brian ran across the idea of intermittent fasting (which there are several ways you can do it) and we started following the basic principals of Greg O'Gallagher's kinobody.com site.  I'm going to let you explore his articles (the free pdf is a great place to start -as well as his FAQ page) since he knows far more about what he's talking about than I do, but the basic premise that I've been following is:

1) Calculate your lean body mass, estimate what your maintenance calorie needs are and slowly decrease in 100 calorie increments to no more than a 300-400 calorie deficit.  The calorie deficit is the key to fat loss.  Decreasing your calories much more than that is NOT fun or sustainable and leads to binge eating because you feel deprived.  Then -tada!- vicious cycle.  (Greg has some great podcasts and articles on binge eating and how to format your eating so you're happy, satisfied and don't feel deprived.)

2) Intermittent fasting.  By eating in an 8-9 hour block of my day, I get to eat big meals that are filling -and even have dessert (every dang night) -which is something I greatly value.  So I wake up, have a cup of black coffee and as many cups of tea and sparkling water as I want.  Then at noon I start my meals.  My preferred eating window is noon-9pm or 1-10pm.

3) Tracking your macro-nutrients (macros.)  I try to keep my day balanced at 30% protein, 40% carbs, 30% fats.  Greg has lots of great articles on this, as well, so I won't go too much into detail on the philosophy, but just share my personal experience following it.  Being able to have a meal of 2 eggs, thick sliced ham, pancakes with honey and topped with cool whip?  It fits my macros and it's DELICIOUS!  But normally I eat baked chicken, lots of veggies, potatoes or rice and a sprinkling of mozzarella. Or a huge salad with diced ham.  And I always end the night with this combo:  Greek yogurt and 1% fat cottage cheese, 1 tablespoon truvia, 1 serving frozen strawberries (heated), 1 serving dark chocolate chips, and a dollop of cool whip.  It's my obsession...  Or 2 servings of low-fat chocolate ice cream and cool whip.  I know, cool whip isn't the best for you, but I'm currently enjoying it ;)

4) Lifting 3x a week.  I do a few basic compound movements and I only do them 3 times a week.  I have continued to press past weight obstacles and I've never had this kind of muscle tone EVER in my life.  I don't kill myself in the gym.  I go for brisk walks with the family as my cardio.  And that's it.  One of the best things about the kinobody philosophy is that you're life is meant to be enjoyed, not trapped in the gym working out 6x a week for multiple hours.  I mean, unless you enjoy that... I don't.

5) Daily Positive Affirmations.  This has been my rock.  Even with daily dessert and going to bed feeling satisfied, I can still feel challenged mentally by being in a calorie deficit -by not eating whatever I like, whenever I like.  Greg shared his daily affirmations he has his clients repeat 3x a day for 21 days and I tailored them to me and posted them in strategic places in the house.  It has been the key to my sustained success.  The greatest challenge has been mental, not physical.  These positive guides have helped me approach fitness, work, family and life in such a healthy, powerful way.  I don't let shame or guilt about body image rule me.  I don't let fear or worry crush me.  I live more in the moment and soak up the day and the experiences I have and the time I get to be with my loved ones.  It truly has changed my approach to life -and is helping me accomplish my fitness goals.

I want to show you something.  Below, on the left was me at 3 months progress.  The photo next to it is month 4, less than three weeks after I started tracking my macros, capping my calories and intermittent fasting.  The progress was drastic!  




Month 3 vs Month 4, a few weeks of following Kinobody.com
The greatest challenge was the first week of intermittent fasting -getting my body used to not eating until after noon.  Also, realizing I had been eating nearly twice my daily calorie needs.  No WONDER I was so frustrated by not losing the fat as quickly as I wanted to and with all the heavy lifting I'd been doing.  Honestly, I had become a liftaholic and was going crazy with all the contradictory "wisdom" and advice.  (You have to read this is a Bro voice...) "You need to eat more to build muscle.  You need as much protein as you can swallow.  You need to lift heavy every single day with, like, maaaybe one day off for recovery.  You need to eat 5-6 small meals.  If you eat less, you'll lose all your muscle, man."

But I wanted to get LEAN *and* have muscle tone.  It seemed like crazy voodoo to get that way.  Now, I'm not saying I've finally found the answer to it all, but it does make a whole lot of sense and is the most sustainable thing I've found.  And once I'm at my desired leanness, guess what?  I get to eat at a maintenance level and work out just to maintain -not keep chasing bigger and stronger.  I get to live my life now and look forward to doing so in the future, not be trapped on a treadmill or in the weight room.

Month 4 vs  Month 5, 1 1/2  months of following the Kinobody philosophy. 
Meal ideas that I currently love:

Pan cooked fish/Baked chicken, steamed/roasted veggies, baked potato/sweet potato/rice

Steamed veggies, turkey meatballs, pasta sauce, mozzarella

Eggs, thick cut ham, pancakes, honey, cool whip  (we actually buy the packaged pancakes since it's easier to count the calories and macros.)

BIG salad, cherry tomatoes, red bell pepper, diced chicken/ham, serving of shredded cheese, balsamic vinegar, salt+pepper

Desserts:
4-6 oz red wine, 1 serving dark chocolate chips

Greek yogurt/cottage cheese and strawberry dessert listed above in post

2 servings low-fat chocolate ice cream with cool whip

1 serving low-fat vanilla ice cream, 1 serving heated honey drizzled on top, cool whip

Helpful Tools:
Digital food scale  (This is the one we bought.)
Calipers (Only measure once a month to really track your progress.)



Tennyson at 5 months | The Wonder Baby

This baby, I tell ya what!!
5 month session from earlier this month.  He wakes up every morning with smiles and coos.  He is jolly, belly laughs at the kids when they play peek-a-boo or do silly antics (which is often.)  He's been eating mashed banana for a month now and it's his favorite.  We've tried sweet potato+banana, oatmeal+banana and, so far, just plain banana wins.

He has great muscle control and continues to explore tactilely.  You know, as babies do.  Everything in his mouth, amazingly strong grip, etc.  

Tennyson loves people -especially his people.  I'll be trying to breastfeed him and when he hears Brian's voice or the kids playing, he whips his head back and stares at them upside down, totally captivated.  I cannot get over how amazingly sweet this little boy is.  I've never seen a kid as easy going and as sweet tempered.

We are CRAZY blessed! XOXO




















Mama, When's MY Audition?!

Wilder's check came in the mail for the acting gig he and I booked.  He allowed Waverley to come along on his special trip to the toy stores to spend his allotted amount of money and... well... she was pretty inspired.  "I want to audition, Mama!  When do I get to do the audition?!"

So I decided to ride the enthusiasm both kids had and grab some updated headshots :)  Both of their online actor profiles are sparkly fresh with these new photos and, whadyaknow, Waverley got her first solo audition.  (We've all auditioned as a family once before -that was rather disastrous- but this was her first time being called in on her own.)  She was pretty excited -and she did a marvelous job, having lots of fun with the experience.  Plus a trip to the candy store afterward is always a welcome treat :)









After the audition, I asked her as we were buckling in, "Oh!  Can we take a picture?"
"Sure."
Snap.
"Mama, now a silly one."
Oh my gosh, I nearly lost it... A selfie queen in the making.


Tennyson, 4 months old | Oh, Baby Baby!



A little on the late side, but finally sneaking over here to post some updates.  Tennyson's 4 month photos from February -our little LoveBug.  He continues to be pure sunshine -now with some wiggles added in.  























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