A Soon to be Fit Mom

During my pregnancy even with my attempts at staying active and eating reasonably healthy, I did give in to cravings (a.k.a. Dunkin Donuts Munchkins) and take a lot of naps on the couch (especially towards the end). Due to all this I ended up gaining more weight than I'd have ideally liked. I don't know fully what I gained since during my last 3-4 months I had to stand backwards on the scale since my belly stuck out so far. I know the ideal for my height is 25-35 pounds MAX. I'm pretty sure I gained 35-40 pounds instead. Just thinking that makes me cringe!!

After giving birth and wearing my Belly Bandit I ended up loosing a little over 20 lbs. Sadly that has still left me with 15-20 lbs to loose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm not 100% focused on the scale right now, but I am pretty determined to loose that loose/soft lower stomach feeling I've had since giving birth. I want my stomach to go back to feeling tight. I know it's WAY harder after having a baby, but I'm pretty determined.

I started out by going on walks daily by the time I was 6 weeks postpartum and my doctor gave me the okay to start working out. I would walk the neighborhood with my son in his stroller. I really enjoyed this at first until it started getting cold here in Georgia. I am in no way a fan of the cold, so I switched my workouts up and started doing DVD fitness programs with the hubby. 

We tried going back to our beloved P90X3 program that helped me pre-pregnancy get a toned body. For one thing workouts with A LOT of jumping do not mix well with a newly postpartum breastfeeding Mamma. I had to wear 2-3 sports bras just to avoid insane breast pain while jumping. My other issues I won't go into detail, but let me just say I was not a fan of jumping. Add to that the fact that we had an almost 2-month old baby who was not an amazing sleeper and tended to cry for what seemed like forever as soon as 4:00 pm rolled around (aka our typical workout time). There were many typical 30-minute workouts that took over an hour since we would take breaks to tend to our son. 

Sadly, now almost 6-months postpartum I still have not lost all the weight that I wanted or gotten the body back that I had before. I think a big part of my issue is figuring out nutrition that works with my new body and my new appetite. Breastfeeding makes me feel like I'm STARVING all the time, which leads to incessant snacking. What makes it even harder is the fact that I'm at home so it's easy to just keep eating without realizing how much you've eaten by the end of the day. Due to all this I've officially decided to start a whole new program that incorporates cleaning up your nutrition and learning correct portion sizes. Hopefully our new program The Masters Hammer & Chisel will get me where I'm wanting to go. 

P90X3 Month 3 - How to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain

OMG Month 3 has had some hard workouts. I think I like this month a little better though because the weeks are switched up. So week 1 has different workouts than week 2. I think I like that better. I also like that I'm actually starting to improve at a lot of my workouts. When you start P90X3 at Month 1 you seriously believe that you'll never even be close to as good as the people in the video. But thankfully as the weeks go on you get more and more confidence as you get stronger and stronger. 

Bow or Boat pose is one of those no joke workout moves that it takes time and consistency to get. During the first month my chest and thighs were barely off the ground. I kept fighting to get higher and higher though and here I am now rocking the bow pose like a pro during P90X3 Decelerator. 

Plyo Push-Ups are also a killer. I started P90X3 doing push-ups on my knees. Then I moved on to push-ups on all fours. I even tried on push-ups on the power stands. Then finally this week I decided to try out the Plyo Push-Ups and I did it. I was so proud of myself afterwards, especially when I saw this picture of me mid plyo explosion. I literally look like I'm floating. That's a huge accomplishment there for me. 

Finally there is P90X3 MMX. This video is seriously the hardest one of the bunch to me. In 30 minutes i burned over 400 calories. I mean, why go to the gym and be bored for an hour on the treadmill or eliptical when in 30 minutes you can burn over 400 calories?!?! That's insane right there. This video was so hard though that by the end after the cool down I just wanted to flop down on my mat and catch my breath. I needed a little extra cool down. 

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What are you doing to stay active this holiday season? When you workout your body releases endorphins which help you cheer up and relax. Those endorphins are super amazing to help you deal with the holiday stress that comes with buying gifts and fitting everything into a tight schedule. It also helps avoid the extra pounds you'll get from all the holiday foods. 

If you feel like you’ve tried everything to get your results and still aren’t seeing them, then let me help you. Together we can become better than average, and not be just another statistic. Give yourself the gift of health this Christmas and invest in your future and the future of your family. Comment below or visit my site if you are interested in making 2015 the healthiest year of your life.

Here's a great quick holiday workout from my favorite instructor Tony Horton to help you avoid holiday weight gain. If you aren't already doing so I recommend following Tony Horton on Youtube. He's amazing and hilarious and his workouts are awesome! 

P90X3 Month 2 Complete

I can't believe it! My husband and I are officially done with Month 2 of P90X3. I am seriously in love with this workout program. Tony Horton keeps me laughing throughout every workout with his silly personality and each day is different than the last. I love the workouts where I record my reps/weights because then I can actually see how I'm improving and getting stronger.

Here's how Block 2 looked in P90X3. My favorites were MMX, Incinerator, and Triometrics. I'm very surprised that I actually like MMX. Back when I used to workout at LA Fitness I atteneded one Kickboxing class and hated it. I spent 90% of the class lost and looking like I had no coordination at all. Thankfully in MMX Tony Horton does a great job of showing the moves and making it super easy to follow. My least favorite was definitely Ecentric Lower. During the first week I was a DISASTER. I kept stumbling and messing up with my workouts. I felt like I barely got a workout even though I had a good calorie burn just because I was so frustrated. I have always had issues with balance, but it seems worse since I sprained my ankles. Thankfully though I noticed during weeks 2-3 I was getting better and better at the moves in Ecentric Lower.

As you can tell by my sheet where I record my reps and weights I was writing BAD and underlining it multiple times on the workouts that were straight up disasters during week 1. I loved seeing my improvements though as the weeks went on. I was also happy to see my progress pictures at the end of the month. I feel like I'm looking better and better!!

I feel like my stomach is looking smaller and my butt is looking more lifted. I still have a ways to go, but I am so happy with my progress. 

Are there others out there wishing they could loose just a few more pounds? Wishing they had someone out there to keep them accountable? Or just hoping to tone and tighten up their body? I'm here to help you! Contact me for information about joining my January Challenge Group! There's only a few week lefts to decided if you are going to make this New Year the one where you finally stick to your resolution. 

P90X3 Workout Pictures with Explanations

Even after having a blog for about a year, I'm still learning what I'm doing. Lately I'm working on being more consistent with my posts as well as trying to post as soon as things happen. However, like everyone I'm not always perfect. I just realized that since I've started P90X3 I have not posted any workout pictures. If you follow me on instagram then you'd see I've been posting them there, but now I'm going to overload my blog with all the pictures and explanations/thoughts on the workouts. So enjoy... :) P.S. This will probably be a very long post...

Here we completed CVX. This video is full of some cardio with weights. During the video you repeat each move twice. The top photo on the left is March and Reach aka Stiff Zombie according to Tony Horton. In this move you extend your arms overhead then lower the weight and kick your leg out straight. Reverse. I could really feel this in my shoulders. The bottom photo on the left is Crescent Chair. In the first round you start in Chair position from yoga with the weight at your chest. Then you step back into a lunge/Crescent with your arms overhead holding the weight. Reverse. In the second round of doing this move you keep your arms up the whole time. During the second round my hamstrings/quads and shoulders were BURNING. Also in the above picture you can see that I got in my new Jump Mat. I use this when I workout down stairs to protect my feet so I'm not working out on hard floors.

Here we completed The Warrior. No equipment is required for this video. All you need is your body weight. As Tony Horton mentions in the video, this workout was designed for the military. The bottom picture on the left shows me performing Abrinome. Lie down with your arms at a 45 degree angle from your sides and legs straight up in the air. As Tony tells you, bring your legs to the right, center, and left. Legs should be at a 45 degree angle from the floor or higher. I felt this move a lot in my lower abdomen. The bottom right picture was from the Burnout. The Burnout was depth charges where you explode up into a jump, then slowly release back down into a squat for a FULL MINUTE. It was HARD!

This was from when we completed Isometrix. Isometrix is an isometric workout wher eyou hold positions for an extended amount of time. This workout helped me to focus on strength and balance. The balance aspect was great because that is something I REALLY struggle with. The right picture is Chair with Leg Extended Forward. This was hard for me to hold while standing on my right leg since the right leg had the injured ankle from the sprain. Ever since spraining my ankle, as well as having foot surgery on that foot in high school, I've never had great balance on my right leg. The bottom picture on the right shows Moon Dog. You need to stand on one leg with the other leg off the ground behind you. Lower until your leg and torso are parallel to the ground..or the best you can do. Reach your arms out to your ears and hold. I was stumbling a lot in this move so I couldn't get my body to stay fully parallel.

Here we completed P90X3 Dynamix. A lot of the moves in this video reminded me of Pilates workouts I've done in the past. Dynamix is a dynamic stretching workout designed to help with flexibility, mobility, and strength. This was definitely a test for me on my flexiblity, espeically while doing Fifer Scissors (see picture on top right). I'm hoping eventually I will be able to get my nose to my knee in that move. The move on the top left was Superman - Side Banana. As Tony calls it out you switch from superman on your stomach with your arms and legs off the ground to Side Banana on your side with hips stacked and your legs/arms lifted so only your hips touch the ground. I was feeling it in my abs on this move for sure.

This was from when we completed Accelerator. During accelerator each move was 1 minute and Tony would have you slow down or speed up. Accelerator is an amazing cardio strength workout. The top picture shows me performing Swimmer's Planks. It was really hard for me in this move to attempt to keep my butt down. My body kept trying to go up into downward dog when I lifted my leg and opposite arm. In this move you alternately lift an opposite arm and leg. While your arm is lifted you perform a forward or backward stroke motion...aka the reason for the name. On the bottom right I am completing Donkey Kicks. These are killers! You start with your hands on the floor and your feet tucked in a crouch position. You then kick both feet into the air as high as you can into a V. Then you lower one foot to the ground and cross the other in front of it, kicking to the side with the same hand as the supporting leg in the air. Then switch sides after your next kick. This move is HARD!! At first it's hard to get the coordination down. Once you do you can work on how high you can kick your legs.

Here we completed Triometrics. In Triometrics each move has 3 levels. Mainly during the workout I noticed that as the levels got higher you went lower/deeper in your squats. The picture on the top shows me in Warrior 3 Squats. You start in Warrior 3 standing on one leg with the other leg extended behind you making your body parallel to the floor. Bend the standing leg into a squat then straighten. For Level 1 you arms are to the side, Level 2 your arms are in airplane, Level 3 they are to the front and reaching. This again as a balance move was really hard for me on my right side. I stumbled a few times and had to get back into position. Overall this was a pretty good workout. By the end our legs were so tired we laid on my BeachBody Jump Mat for a little corpse pose/Shavasana to relax.

Here we completed Incinerator. My arms felt like Jello after this workout. I thought this would be more of a cardio workout, but it seemed to be focused a lot on strength. During my second week I upped my weights where I could and burned over 200 calories, compared to the first week at 150 calories. In the top picture on the left I was completing a regular push up with Tony Horton Power Stands. I've just now recently been able to start doing regular push-ups compared to modified push-ups on my knees. I like using the Tony Horton Power Stands because they help a lot to minimize the pain in my wrists during push ups. The middle picture on the left I'm doing a Pike Press. I used the Tony Horton Power Stands again to help my wrists. In this move you are in a "pike-up" position, which is similar to downward dog, and you are doing shoulder presses. In downward dog bend your elbows to reach your head between your hands and almost touch the floor then push back up. Finally, on the bottom left I am completing an "A" press. Lying on your back extend your arms straight up with palms facing each other at chest level. Bend your arms and bring them down so triceps are on either side of your body. This move is really similar to a chest press.

Let me know if you have any questions about P90X3! I'd be happy to answer questions or give encouragement to anyone thinking about starting a new workout program. Beachbody has MANY great programs that I love!!!

P90X3 Block 1 Complete

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I'm a little late posting this due to unforeseen circumstances this last week, but my husband and I have officially finished Block 1 of P90X3. Overall, I have to say it was pretty easy to stick to the program just because it's only 30 minute videos. That doesn't mean they were easy videos in anyway, but they are more manageable to fit into busy schedules just because of how short they are. The only issue I had during Block 1 was caused by me wearing incorrect shoes. My ankle swelled so much from the sprain that you couldn't even see the bone anymore. Due to how bad the sprain was I had to take a few days off working out and use crutches to get around. That alone coupled with the pain of spraining my ankle taught me the lesson of the importance of WEARING THE RIGHT SHOES. Tony Horton says in every video not to wear running shoes and now I definitely do not.

Eventually my ankle did heal and I was able to walk again. I'm still not 100% back to normal and I still wear an ankle brace, but it's doing much better. If needed I will modify my workouts to account for the issues with my ankle. My husband told me that it took him 6 months for his ankle to fully go back to normal size. 

But now that I have finished Block 1 my husband and I took the Progress pictures that are required and weighed ourselves. I am down 10 lbs from when we first started P90X3 and here are my before pictures next to my progress pictures.

SIDE VIEW

FRONT VIEW

Looking at the pictures I can definitely tell the difference that a month of working out and eating healthier has made. If this is only one month of doing P90X3 then I can't wait to see what I look like after doing 3 months of P90X3. 

As a side note....I started drinking Shakeology during my last week of Block 1 and will continue drinking it throughout the whole process. You always hear that abs are made in the kitchen and I believe it to be true. That is why I will be supplementing Shakeology in to make breakfast my healthiest meal of the day.

<3 Kelly Jean

Sneak Peek into Tony Horton's Workouts

Ever thought about trying out P90, P90X, P90X2, or P90X3 but wasn't sure if it would be the workout for you? Maybe you didn't want to spend the money to buy it without trying it first? Well, you're in luck. First, if you have an XBox ONE you can just go to the Fitness App and there are a few 10-minute workouts with Tony Horton. His workouts are amazing and he's a hoot. Every workout video I am usually laughing, even after doing them a few times. I also  found a few short workouts you can try to decide if you would want to buy the real thing. 

PopSugar has a 10-Minute P90X3 Workout with Tony Horton here. It's AMAZING! I just did the workout this morning for a mini-workout since today is technically my rest day. On a side note I desperately want to buy the her workout outfit. It's super cute and PINK...aka my favorite color!

Here's a P90X3 inspired Total Body Workout

Here's an Accelerated Series Chest Workout with Tony Horton

Let me know what you think! I love Tony Horton and his amazing workouts! Checkout his Youtube page here. All his videos are GREAT! I just wanted to share today some of his videos to help others get motivated to start working out! Here's where you can buy the videos by Tony Horton if you are interested.

<3 Kelly Jean

P90X3 Review -- Block 1 So Far

My husband and I are now at Week 4 with P90X3. OMG! I really can't believe we're still going! This is my first time literally in my life actually continually sticking to working out. I"m waiting to post my before pictures after we fully finish Block 1, which is 30 days from the start. At that point we take progress pictures and get stats. Then I'll have something to post to compare the two pictures. Recently we've started drinking the Results and Recovery Formula after our workouts to minimize soreness and to help us get more out of our workout. It taste like a Creamsicle Popsicle...especially if you add a little ice to your drink.

This was my dinner last night. I threw together a salad with all the veggies we had in our fridge. I also baked some tofu to add a little extra protein and make my meal more fulfilling.

Here is how our first 3 weeks have gone with P90X3.

My favorites from Week 1-3 were Yoga X, Agility X, and The Warrior. My choice of Yoga X is obvious because I have always been a Yoga fanatic. During college when I could scrape the money together I would pay for the trial periods at a Hot Yoga location near my apartment. I love love love Hot Yoga. With Agility X it's not an obvious choice since I sprained my ankle doing that video during Week 2. I blame myself entirely for that accident however. I would never want to warn people away or scare people from doing Agility X as long as you heed mine and Tony's warnings. After pressing play on each video Tony Horton explains stresses the importance of having the right shoes. He tells you every time that you do not want running shoes, because that is not the workout you are doing. I ignorantly chose to ignore that fact. I mean of course Tony Horton has no idea what he's talking about....yeah right. He's 55 and in amazing shape. Finally, The Warrior was another one of my favorites. This workout reminded me a lot of the bootcamp and bodyworks classes I used to attend at L.A. Fitness. Don't get me wrong, I loved all the videos in some way, but I definitely had my favorites that I will continue to fit into my workout regimes even after I finish my 90 days.

Within the next few weeks I will also be adding Beachbody's product Shakeology into my meal plan/healthy lifestyle regimen. I've heard a lot of great things about Shakeology from friends so I'm dying to try it and see how it helps me with my weight loss journey. I've been feeling pretty frustrated because my husband is just dropping off pounds while I continue to struggle. I really hope trying Shakeology helps me!!

Here's a great video on the benefits of Shakeology. I will continue to update on my results and thoughts on P90X3 as well as Shakeology.

<3 Kelly Jean

Healthy Meal Planning

Part of my journey to becoming a healthier and happier me through P90X3 is to make changes when it comes to how I eat. There are many days I still look back with sadness to the days of High School when I could eat pizza for 4 meals a day (Yes 4...not 3) and still wear a size 2 in jeans.  I still wish I didn't have to workout. I still wish I didn't have to eat healthy. I also still wish I could wear a size 2. However, part of my growing up process is to become a healthier person so that I can live longer. I don't want to be healthy just to be "skinny", I want to be healthy to become "happier". I recently made an inspiration board to help keep me positive and keep me making great decisions. One of my favorites is this...

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It's such a true statement. You can't just wish for things to be great. You have to take the actions to make things better in your life. You have to choose to be healthy. A great place for inspiration (and sometimes temptation) for healthier eating is Pinterest. I have made a board just for healthy meal planning. So far I have found many great recipes to try out that I was extremely pleased with. My favorite so far is Zucchini Lasagna. It allows you to have the cheesy favorite of many people, but in a healthier way. Zucchini Lasagna is low on carbs and calories. The recipe I found and adjusted from Skinny Taste was only 9 points plus with Weight Watchers. I went vegetarian style simply because I'm not a ground beef eater. I've also been working to insert more veggies into my daily meals. A few of my favorites are Garlic Roasted Vegetables and Chick Pea Salads. 

Don't they just look colorful and tasty? Finding alternatives that still satisfy your cravings is important to me in my journey to a healthier me. I can't wait to try more new recipes!!

<3 Kelly Jean

Life Updates

Lately I have been very busy. A little over a month ago I married the man of my dreams. I am officially now a wife to someone. That word still surprises me each time I say it or hear it. The wedding went perfectly. It was very nerve wracking the day of when I woke up to 80% chance of rain all day. Somehow though the weather turned out perfect and there wasn't even a sprinkle during my outdoor ceremony. I felt truly blessed and everything was so beautiful. I had the greatest vendors and such a beautiful site. If you live in Georgia or plan to get married in Georgia and you want a southern wedding with definite class then I recommend you choose Chene Rouge! 

I haven't gotten my offical wedding pictures back, but I was sent the above by a great family friend. I can't wait to see my actual wedding pictures done by Jesse Garrett Photography. 

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Now that we're back from the wedding my husband and I have also decided to make some changes in our lives by starting P90X3 and becoming healthier people.  My husband completed the original P90X after graduating High School and lost 40lbs. I've tried doing the original P90X with him, but I can never stick to it. The original one is less realistic for the modern working person. However, with P90X3 you just have 30 minute workout videos to do rather than 1+ hour long videos done with the regular P90X. The videos are great and with such an amazing workout partner to do them with (aka my handsome husband) we were doing great. However, for me the process has been paused sadly. During Week 2 Day 2 while doing Agility X I sprained my ankle. I am FULLY to blame. With every video Tony Horton stresses the importance of the right shoes. He says that running shoes are not what you want, because it's not what you are doing. However, I chose to ignore that and start P90X3 with my running shoes until my cross training shoes arrived. Then during Agility X while doing grapevine runs around the tape lines I tripped and landed sideways on my ankle. Now it's swollen and causing a lot of pain/discomfort. It has been 4 days and the swelling has gone down, but it still looks bruised. Depending on how it looks tomorrow I may try walking on it. Based on my experience all I recommend for anyone contemplating doing P90X3 is that you get the RIGHT shoes. Order yourself some cross training shoes!!!!!

Here's the ones I got. They are ASICS Women's Rhythmic 2 Cross Training Shoe. I can't wait to test them out once I'm back in perfect working order and back to doing P90X3 with my husband.

<3 Kelly Jean