Progress report! General ramblings on how my first 5 weeks has gone.

Hey all you lovely people!

It's now been 5 weeks since I began my concerted push to improve my health and fitness by starting my workout programme and by committing to clean eating.
Today sees the end of the particular phase of the HIIT programme that I've been following. and I felt it was as good a time as any to tell you how it's gone for me.

I can honestly say that I've been fully committed and dedicated to both the working out and the clean eating. Have I been 100% perfect? Well... not entirely, but it was never about being 100% perfect. It was about the 80/20 balance so things didn't feel overwhelming and out of my reach. So where did that 20% rear its head during these last 5 weeks?
I've stuck to eating clean meals and honestly that part has been easy as I'm already used to it. I've been trying out new recipes and I've found some great new snack recipes to keep my sweet tooth at bay. But, I have allowed myself some treats . This has solely been in the form of Halloween sweets that have lingered in the house longer then they've been welcome. I didn't have the heart to throw them away though. So they've just been sitting there calling my name until I was able to devour them all so they couldn't haunt me anymore. It's fair to say that I have limited the extent of my sweet-eating in any given day, so I've managed to keep my troughing within reason. To balance this out I've made sure that I haven't had any cheat meals. This was intentional, but actually I just didn't feel I wanted or needed to. I'm quite happy with my clean meals and I know I feel better for eating them. I've been drinking lots of water and haven't felt the need for a glass of summer fruits squash since 'water week'. I call that a result :)
The workout schedule I've been following is prescribed and it tells you exactly what workout to push play on each day. This is perfect for me as it tells me what to do and I just do it. No procrastinating umming or ahhing about what workout to do, it's all laid out for me - no excuses! I've missed 1 out of the full quota of 25 workouts. That was yesterday! I had fully intended on doing the workout. I was even in my workout clothes and trainers already, but then my Mum and Dad decided to pop round for an hour, and 3½ hours later they were only just leaving! I love them very much and it was great to see them, but I hadn't factored that time in. I could have just done my workout in the evening but I'd already set aside that time to be with Rog (it was Saturday evening after all) and I didn't want to compromise on that. So I made the decision to miss my workout yesterday.
All in all though, it hasn't been a bad 5 weeks!

The workout programme I've been following is based on HIIT (High Intensity Interval training for those that don't know). It takes on one muscle group at a time, works it to exhaustion and then moves on to the next muscle group. It's only 25-minutes a day, but it's full-on, without any rest. It's been challenging at times but I know that it's worth it. So I've been making that small decision to push play each day for the greater goal. It's worked!!

The benefits I've seen in just 5 short weeks are:

• I'm noticeably stronger. I've progressed to my heavier set of weights in all but one of the moves in the whole programme,
• I'm fitter. I can go longer in each move without having to take a break or modify,
• My clothes are fitting better. Less of the waistbands digging in and jelly belly hanging over the top. I generally feel less wobbly and I can't feel the rolls so much when I'm sitting down,
• I can see visible changes to my body. I can manage to look at it in the mirror now without pulling a disgusted face! This has made me so much more confident about myself,
• I feel like a badass lifting weights!!!!!!
• I'm feeling in control, 
• I've lost 7 lbs. 

You might have noticed that I put my weight loss at the end of the list. This is completely intentional. My weight is not something I'm obsessed with, it never has been. It's not something I measure my progress or success by because it's just a number. Weight is affected by lots of factors that can change on a daily basis. I would much rather go by how I look and feel. I did weigh myself before I started the workout programme purely as a baseline because I know that people tend to be interested in that. It's the first thing anyone ever asks you - 'how much have you lost?' So I'm using that information for those of you out there that want to know. I have no interest myself in whatever that number is. I will be using the mirror as my monitor.
I also took body measurements and I have before and after photos. I'm choosing not to post the photos here (mainly because I'm not brave enough to), but they're good for me to use going forwards as reference.

 

So what's next I hear you cry!

Well, my personal health and fitness goals for the end of the year (my year end resolution if you like) is to remain accountable going into the festive season. I am committing to:

• Follow the next phase of my workout programme and not miss any workouts. It'll be a step up and it's focused on getting lean, strong muscle whilst burning fat. It relies even more on using weights,
• Stick with clean eating but allow myself one laid back meal or an evening where I have a few drinks or sweets,
• Stay accountable by checking in regularly with you all on my Facebook page and Twitter (feel free to follow me!),
• Meal plan every weekend and keep clean eats in the house to reduce temptations  (this week is already planned out and set in stone),
• Rock it!

I'm gonna make 2015 better than I started!!!!