1/2 Way

So, in a moment of insanity a few weeks ago and with the support and encouragement of my husband, I signed up for Farrell's Extreme Bodyshaping class.

(Extreme is kind of a understatement)

(especially if you haven't done a whole lotta exercising for the last year...or 10)

(especially if you haven't pushed yourself past a little pain since child birth)

I have a hard time with self-motivation so having this kind of accountability has been great for me. Our team has 2 coaches who help us during class and email us outside of class. 

It's been super hard, but sincerely fun. I always feel great, though a little defeated, when the class is over. I've also had to sneak in quite a few naps since I've been getting up at 5 am 6 days a week, but am slowly, slowly adjusting. 

When you start they do a "Fitness Evaluation" and take measurements, weight, body fat, timed push-ups and sit-ups, and a timed mile run/walk. They follow up with a 1/2 way evaluation and then again at the end of the 10 weeks so you can see your progress.

Our 1/2 way is technically Saturday, but I can't make it so I did it last night instead.

And since I'm a dork, here are the results:

(I actually didn't start until Saturday of the first week because I signed up late so technically have only done it for almost 4 weeks)

Weight: down 7 lbs.

(my scale at home had me thinking I'd lost more. Stupid scale!)

Inches lost:

Chest:1/2 inch

Waist: 3 inches! 

Hips: 3 inches!

Arms: 1/4 inch (I was surprised with that one...feels like a lot more)

(thunder) Thighs: 1 1/4 inches

Went from 34 push-ups to 48.

24 (full) sit-ups to 32

Mile run/walk went from 14:55 (don't laugh) to 12:45.

I actually ran the whole first 1/2 mile last night. This is enormous for me. I kind of loathe running.

I'm really excited to see what my results will be in 5 more weeks! 

I don't expect to lose a lot more in poundage, but hoping to lose more inches and gain more strength.  For a majority of my adult life I've struggled with wanting to be healthy, but wanting to eat whatever I want and not exercise. That doesn't really add up. Weight Watchers was great and I lost a lot of weight, but hardly worked out at all while I was on the program. This feels so much better to feel stronger and have more energy. Nutrition is also a big part of the program. I'm eating a lot more protein than I usually do, 6 small meals a day, and then either Saturday or Sunday is a FREE day to eat whatever you want. It's amazing how easy it is to stay away from sweets knowing I can have some on my free day. 

So anyways, that's my Farrell's experience so far. It's an investment for sure, but it's a great start to getting healthy and strong and for someone like me, the accountability is fantastic.

The end.

And now I'm hoping for a "back to normal" day for my little H-man. He had a nasty flu bug all day Tuesday, was on the couch ALL day yesterday, and we're easing into today. He seems a little better, but not quite himself yet. Poor boy couldn't even keep water down! So we are all getting a little stir-crazy in here. Really looking forward to the weekend.

Happy Thursday, everyone!