Monday, January 16, 2017

Denise Austin Program Week 10: Blog Post 7

I have reached the last week of my second round of Denise Austin's program. I had lofty goals for this round, and I would say that I'm very proud of how much I've accomplished.

For this round, it was extremely important to me that I complete every single workout for the ten-week program. During my first round I'd say I did an average of four workouts a week. This time, I was going for the full six per week. I crushed that goal...for the first seven weeks...until week eight when I got a kidney stone and then Christmas happened. Why must I always be derailed by Christmas?! Was it all of the chocolate goodness of the holiday?? Probably. That and the fact that I was so stinking stressed and tired from making sure that I had gifts for everyone and that I made the holidays as perfect for everyone that I could. Ugh. Times were a lot easier when the hubby and I used to travel to Hawaii or the Bahamas for Christmas (pre-kids...back when we both had jobs and money to spend on things such as this!)

For weeks eight and nine I did appromixately three workouts and only counted my calories and ate healthfully for about three days. Yesterday I declared that I must get back to my healthful ways or else before I knew it...I'd be back up the twenty pounds that I've lost since Septemember...or even the sixty-five that I have lost all together. I felt such guilt yesterday as I lamented over how much I had not worked out for the last two weeks and how much chocolate and candy canes I had crammed into my mouth.

And then I came to my senses and realized that this is life and undoubtedly I will again and again have periods of chocolate and candy cane cramming. A life of every single day calorie counting and working out with extreme attention paid to making sure I got enough protein and fruits and veggies just isn't a life that I want to live. I want to eat healthy and work out on most days of the week and make sure I'm healthy physically and mentally, but on holidays and special occasions, or times of extreme stress or even sadness, I want to love myself enough to step back and just take a breather and enjoy a candy bar. From what I can gather, Denise Austin's new program LifeFit will speak to living a healthy life in all areas every day, with enough love for oneself to eat that treat.

So today I did my first workout of the last week of the program. I had my hubby take a few pictures. Oh, how I wish that in Septemember when I started, I had taken these same pictures. Looking back on my camera roll, I have very few due to how much weight I had gained back. I found only one full-body one. The left is at the beginning of my first round in September (about twenty weeks ago) and the right is today, weighing about twenty pounds less. It does look to me like it's more than twenty pounds, but it's really not. I just gained a lot of muscle.

This before and after change is an amazing testament to the effectiveness of Denise's program.



Tonight I did more side-by-side comparisons from when I was sixty-five pounds heavier. And I cannot bring myself to post them at this point. They're pretty darn jaw-dropping. But I feel shame and sadness and I think I'm going to have to have a pretty good talking to with myself before I share those pictures.

It's not like it's a secret. People saw me at that weight. In fact, that's all that some people knew of me. I've changed a lot in the last eight years since losing that weight (twice--once before and once after having two children).

The pictures are untouched, down to the zit on my forehead and the dirty mirror behind me. I don't know how to retouch pictures and I rather like it that way.

This is one of the two places that I do my workouts. When I'm in my room like this, in this tiny space, it's typcially because I want some space from my littles. Sometimes I even lock the door!

 


 

I'm so proud that I've finished two rounds of Denise Austin's 360 program. I honestly can't believe how far I've come. I lost the twenty pounds that I had regained, but more importantly, I've regained my health in all areas. I could NOT have done it without Denise's smiling face and sweet encouragement. When I first started in September I could barely do the walking video, and now I'm using five-eight pound weights for all of the videos and planking again. I had to go and buy new clothes. My mom made me when she saw the clothes that I was wearing that no longer fit. 

I don't think I'm at my goal weight yet. I'm thinking another five pounds and a lot more muscle. I'm just going to feel it out and continue on my health journey. Thank you Denise for giving me this gift of health. I'll forever be grateful. Never has one program changed my heart so much--my attitude about health, my desire for health, and the desire to continue. I am making so many changes, and I can't wait to share more with you. 

To read about my journey with Denise, please look at my previous posts on the subject!

I was compensated for the program, but I promise you that each and every post is my absolute honest opinion. 

5 comments:

  1. Great work! I used to love her work outs. Time to try again

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! I can't wait until her new program starts in a few days. I haven't been as consistent and I miss it terribly. I feel like that is just life though..trying as hard as we can, with periods of greatness and not so greatness...and then trying again.

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